


Hi,Hello

by thatwriternextdoor



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Drama, Food, GOT7 - Freeform, M/M, Romance, Short Story, bts - Freeform, critiques, diner
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-01-29 12:59:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12631566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriternextdoor/pseuds/thatwriternextdoor
Summary: "Say something that's sounds a little more believable, Jae. What you're saying will not happen even if purple pigs start flying in the sky-""-what's with you and purple pigs?""You get my point though.""But I'm serious Brian, Sungjin is in love. The impossible has happened,now I can die in peace."_In which Sungjin, a stubborn and insensitive but brillliant chef who does not see anything beyond the world of food, finds himself undeniably in love with Dowoon, a young, famous food critic who just needs a break.Or the fic in which Yoon Dowoon, the food critic, finally finds happiness in the food made by one persistent, undeniably talented chef with terrible manners.





	1. Dammit, Kim Wonpil

**Author's Note:**

> After I started writing Andante, my other fic, I reaslised that I need something to let off steam. And hence came the birth of Hi, Hello which is just a lighthearted short story I want to write with this ship.   
> Expect lots of fluff, because I'm going genrously heap it into this fiction and try to satisfy my fluffy romantic needs.

"- _and then he finally saw in the wild depths of her mahogany eyes, a promise of something; something that was just as dark and mysterious as she was. This time, he didn't hesitate to jump._ "

In the low, comfortable lighting of the room with empty chairs and chairs and tables, the rambunctious cheers that rose from the small group following the narrator's quiet husky voice seemed almost a little rude. The silence that had comfortably settled on the narration, creating an effect of listening alone through a pair of earphones, was shattered apart with laughter. 

The group that sat on the chairs and tables in the corner of the closed diner were its staff, currently taking a lengthy lunch break before prepping for dinner. It consisted of Jae, Taehyung, Jackson and Mark, who waited the tables, Namjoon and Hoseok, who worked the counter and then Brian,Jimin, Sungjin, Seokjin, Yugyeom and Jungkook who managed the kitchen activities. 

The narrator, who sat with his back against the wall of the corner booth,was Jae; Park Jaehyung. In reality, he was probably the loudest person that the group knew of; his boisterous personality clashing almost shockingly with his writing that was slow, reserved and extremely calculated. 

"Is this your final draft?" 

Jae grinned at that question, pushing up his glasses that had slipped down his nose as he said,"First draft." 

Jae was a drama writer who was weird to say at the most. He could be called extremely successful if you went just by the viewers rating. His stories had something deeply rooted to humanity that made the person watching fall in love with his characters over and over again. But he was known to be difficult to deal with when it came to work, focusing on every little detail, resulting in the budget of the drama getting bigger and his wages getting smaller. 

"So you're going to spend another six months working on this?" It was Brian, the head chef and the owner of the diner. Jae had joined the diner only to work temporarily as a waiter so that he could understand the main character of his latest drama better. 

He pouted. "You should be thankful I'm working here, Brian. I increase your sales with my legendary looks, you should know." 

Brian was actually Kang Younghyun, but Jae had decided that he would call the head Chef the name he had assigned for one of his characters in his drama _to get that real-sy feel man, you get what I mean?_

And the name had somehow stuck and now the newer employees did not even know the head Chef's real name.

Brian smirked, "Legends are not facts, Jae, they have no authenticity. People come to a restaurant to eat, not to stare at people." 

"Preach," shouted Jackson, between a mouthful of food making Namjoon who was sitting next to him recoil in disgust. 

"There is more food out of our mouth than there is in it." Seokjin, who sat opposite him chidingly and proceeded to start a lecture about table manners in which Namjoon promptly participated. 

"I beg to differ," said Jae stubbornly, adamant to continue his statement. "I'm beautiful-right Sungjin?" 

Sungjin who had been sitting on the chair at the edge of the group and furiously typing something on the phone (possibly a new recipe), looked up as Taehyung cautiusly poked him on the arm to get his attention, unamused with the sudden shift of interest to him. 

"No." Sungjin said plainly and went back to his typing. 

Between loud laughter that erupted, Jae dramatically sobbed on Jimin's shoulder (Jimin was the only female staff and was also the only one who could handle Jae most of the time) and complained about how betrayed he felt. 

"You shouldn't feel so bad, hyung," said Jungkook, their youngest, sympathetically patting Jae. "You know that the only thing Sungjin hyung cares about is his food." 

And that was true. Park Sungjin was the sous-Chef; talented enough to be the head Chef of some really high priced restaurant, but had preferred to work in Brian's restaurant claiming that he could work with more freedom in a diner. 

When it came to food, Sungjin was intolerable. He was picky, obsessive and highly protective of the food that he made which meant that Brian had to face hell if a customer ever asked to meet the creator of the dishes face to face. 

Now this did not mean that Sungjin was a terrible person, he was genuinely nice person- as long as it did not concern the matters of food. 

But the problem was that Sungjin had very little to do with the world outside food. This meant that he was irritable and insensitive pretty much all the time and did not socialise unless he absolutely had to. Even joining staff for lunch break in the diner (like the one they were having now) was possible only after a great amount of pleading from Brian. 

But unlike the staff who had grown to understand his nature and even had started to find it endearing, the customers could not be easily convinced as to why Brian absolutely refused to let them meet the chef who made the plate. _Sorry, but the chef is an introvert_ didn't make much sense, but Brian decided that it was better than _he will ask you why the fucking hell had they called him from his work to compliment on his food when they still had a piece of zucchini left on their plate._

"Someday, Sungjin, someday, you will fall for my charms." Jae put one hand on his heart and send a solemn flying kiss to Sungjin with the other. 

The man visibly cringed and tried to move farther away from Jae, even though he was sitting farthest from him. 

"Denial at its finest," said Brian, grinning. 

Jae opened his mouth again, possibly to protest about how mean they were all being to a world famous author such as himself, but was interrupted (fortunately) by frantic the opening of the diner's door. 

All conversation died down as they watched a figure burst into the diner and look around desperately. 

"Wonpil!" Brian raised his hand in greeting. 

Wonpil raised a hand back, wheezing a little as he collapsed to the seat between Jungkook and Sungjin. "Hi guys." 

"Did something happen?" Jae asked worriedly, having completely forgotten about whatever he was going to say previously. 

"No, no," Wonpil shook his head, giving them all a million watt smile that rivalled Hoseok's. "I wanted to catch you all during the lunch break, so I ran a little." 

"You are out of shape, Mr.Wonpil," said Jackson sounding comically serious. He flexed his muscles and said," You can never attain these if you are planning on never accepting that invitation to the gym." 

"It's really fun." Yugyeom supported, and was joined by Jungkook immediately. "You lift weights-" 

"-which is boring." Interrupted Jae. 

Jimin smacked him lightly on the shoulder and scoffed. "That's the reason why no girl is ever willing to date you." 

"That," Jae flicked her nose, "is because they are too flustered to talk to me." Jimin retaliated by promptly pulling Jae down in a choke hold. 

Before the cheers of _choke him, choke him_ became too loud, Brian asked hastily. "So why did you want to meet us, Wonpil? Are you cancelling on the piano performance? Because if that's so then you better consider yourself a broke man because you will have to treat us all to tomorrow's lunch." 

"I..want lobsters," said Jae with difficulty through Jimin's chokehold. Much to everyone's horror and amusement, he was slightly turning purple, but nobody actually did anything to stop it. 

"I'm not cancelling on the performance, don't worry." Wonpil said reassuringly. 

Wonpil was majoring in music and had been Brian's junior and roommate in college. During the days when he did not collapse under workload, Wonpil performed on the piano in the diner and had gathered quite a few fans for himself. Now he came regularly during weekends to perform-not really for the money, but more for the experience than anything else. 

"Do you want some water?" Jimin asked him sweetly, finally letting go of Jae, who collapsed on the table, wheezing loudly. 

"Thank you," said Wonpil gratefully gulping down the water. By then the chaos had died down a little. 

"It's nothing serious really," he said when he saw the slightly anxious look on Brian's face.But Brian had the right to feel the slight anxiety. From all the years that he had known Wonpil, the younger had the least tolerance for anything related to sports. Running was a huge no no for him and Brian knew that if Wonpil had actually ran to meet them, something was going on. 

"Yoon Dowoon posted on his twitter that he will be visiting this diner tonight." 

There was a second of silence, like somebody had pressed on the pause button by mistake in the middle of an important part in a movie.

Brian had only time to think _dammit, Kim Wonpil_ before hell broke loose. "Guys, guys." Shouted Brian, to be heard above the noise. 

"Wait a second," Jae said after they had fallen into considerable silence. "Are you sure it's Dowoon, Yoon Dowoon, _The Yoon Dowoon-_ " 

"Jae don't make it sound so dramatic." Jimin said dryly. 

"But it is a huge deal isn't it?" Asked Taehyung, looking at everyone for confirmation. "Isn't Yoon Dowoon one of the best food critics out there? This could be excellent for our diner." 

Yoon Dowoon, as Taehyung had said, was a huge deal in the food industry. He was younger than Wonpil, but his impeccable sense of taste had lifted him higher up in the food industry in a very short period of time. What made him a favourite among the veteran critics was that Dowoon did not sugar coat his words and chose to give his verdict mercilessly. He was said to be very picky when it came to food, which suddenly reminded Brian of a certain chef who was still typing away on his phone. 

Seokjin looked a little troubled. "But he usually goes only to high end restaurants, what up with him suddenly?" 

"I know why," Jae raised his hand up and waved it excitedly, like he was in a classroom. He read out from his phone. " _You guys asked for it, so I'm going to go for it. Tonight's dinner at **Hi,Hello-**_ location map attached- _I'm hoping to have some fun. Watch out for the reviews by tonight at 12:00 am KST! Peace,_ smiley face emoji."

There was a long pause as the information sunk in.

"Alright guys," said Brian clapping his hands together and hoping that the nervousness was not shown on his face. "Let's impress the hell out of everyone with our food, okay?" 

Everyone cheered loudly in assent. "Like always," said Jae, giving Brian a reassuring pat on his back, a knowing glint in his eyes. 

Brian nodded looking at Sungjin, who was still unbothered by everything going on around him, and clenched his fist in determination. "Like always."


	2. Oh.Well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited

"- _out of nowhere, without any warning at all. Do you feel even the slightest bit guilty, did you even think about poor old me when you went and typed that? Dowoon- yah, Yoon Dowoon, are you even listening to me?_ " 

Dowoon jerked up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he said, "Yes, I-" But that's all the person at the other end of the line needed. 

" _Out of all the places you could have chosen you picked a diner, Dowoon. Excuse my language-"_

"I'm not a kid anymore, hyung." 

"- _but you picked a fucking diner out of everything that was available. And that too it's not even a four star, let alone a five with some random name that I haven't heard of even once in my life-"_

"Hi, Hello." Dowoon said in a clipped tone. He carded his fingers lazily though his curly hair, massaging his scalp lightly as he looked up at his ceiling from his position on the carpet of his living room. His eyes were starting to droop again. 

" _What?"_

Unable to fight against the wave of exhaustion that was taking over him, Dowoon replied monotonously with his eyes closed, "The name of the diner is Hi, Hello. I asked the fans for a random location this was their first pick. It's popular and apparently the food is pretty good." 

His mobile was on speakerphone and it was on the sofa. If Dowoon hadn't been felling like his bones were going to meld with the wooden flooring below his carpet, he would have made an effort to disconnect the call however rude it may be. 

" _Dowoon,"_ the speaker's voice was more gentle now, " _I know why you are doing this kid, but we have a waiting list. A long ass waiting list that has names of restaurants that most people can only dream of even seeing in real life. If they know that you chose a diner above their-"_

"I know, hyung." Dowoon sighed, trying his best to sound professional (grown up) when he continued, "but I want to keep it interesting. We have normal viewers too and they just don't want to see me going to the same old high end restaurant and eat food anymore. They," He paused, trying to collect his thoughts. The excuse that he constructed was not rolling smoothly enough because of the heavy influence of drowsiness on his tongue. "They want something raw-something common and everyday." 

Warm afternoon sunlight poured in through the window panes and lit up the studio apartment, highlighting the grey monochromatic colors of the room to look more softer and comfortable somehow. Dowoon, who lay on his back on the fluffy grey carpet that marked his living room space, suddenly looked much younger than anyone had seen him in years. 

" _Now you're just trying to convince me that this is a good idea, Dowoon. I don't know kid, this might just be the worst decision yet if I let you do this. God, the troubles you make me go through. You are going to be the reason I have grey hairs before I even turn thirty five, let me tell you_. " Rustling of pages was heard from the other side of the line. " _I can't believe I'm letting you do this, you better treat me to something really extravagant later. Do you have a specific time you'll be going?I want to call the filming crew in advan- wait, are you even listening? Did you zone out again? Yoon Dowoon!"_

But Yoon Dowoon was no longer listening. Blanketed by the afternoon sunlight, he had fallen asleep on the carpet, amongst the papers and books that were littered around him. 

_ 

The heart and soul of **Hi, Hello** was its kitchen. 

In here, the world was an entirely different one. Bright lights, loud noises, excitement in the air that clung to your skin and of course, the odor of so many different types of food that your nose nearly breaks down trying to differentiate. There was teasing and hollering and angry outburst or blatant ignoring (mostly Sungjin in this case), there was the deafening sound of slicing, dicing, sizzling, clattering of utensils and roaring of flames. 

Like Brian had told Jae the first time he had entered the kitchen, the magic began from there. 

"Sungjin hyung, I trust you can handle Yoon Dowoon's order?" Brian asked loudly over the din to Sungjin who had been dicing onions with terrifying speed, his back against the rest of the kitchen. 

Pausing his work, Sungjin turned and gave Brian a nod and a brief, "Yes," after which he returns to work like he had never been interrupted. 

"Yoon Dowoon is going to wonder why his plate wasn't made by the head chef," a voice said close to his ear. 

Brian jumped in fright and his hand instinctively gripped the freshly sharpened kitchen knife to swing it but let it clatter back onto his work station when he saw the culprit. 

Jae honestly looked a little scared as he raised his hands in surrender, tripping as he moved backwards to protect himself. "Woah, woah, easy there, good sir. Pray tell me, who do you plan on killing in this fine day? Jaehyung Park? Spare that poor guy, he's done nothing but good for the world." 

"Do you normally launch into an overdramatic dialogue when you get scared?" Brian said teasingly, feeling a little relived that Jae had been smart enough to move back in time. If he come forward when Brian had picked up the knife, he might have actually swung it. 

"Scared?" Jae looked incredulous. Brian was starting to feel guilty. "More like terrified." 

Brian gave him an apologetic smile . "I'm sorry dude, you took me by surprise." 

"Do you try to kill everyone who tries to surprise you?" Jae seemed to have gotten back his footing. "I feel bad for your future girlfriend." 

"Why do you assume that I don't have a girlfriend?" 

Jae raised an eyebrow. Brian laughed, admitting to his lack of a girlfriend easily enough and cleared his work station away to start working. "Don't you have work to do?" He inquired, pulling a box of potatoes from beneath his station and started to peel the first one. 

"I do, but I wanted to talk to my favorite person in the world before I began."  Jae leaned against the counter and looked around him. From his point, he could see every single thing that was happening in the kitchen. The title of head Chef obviously came with a good view. 

"Unfortunately for you," Brian swept away the potato peels with one hand, threw the peeled potato in a bowl and then starts on a new one in one easy familiar motion, "your favorite person is your boss who likes it better if you'd get back to work." 

"Chill, there isn't much to do." Jae opened the cabinet above him and pulled out a spare apron. "The real work starts when the crowd comes in." He took the knife on the counter and looked at it with a scarred expression before patting it affectionately. 

Brian sighed. "Jae, get back to work." 

"I forgive you." Jae was talking to the knife passionately,ignoring Brian. "I know that you have made some terrible mistakes, but it is okay, I'm a nice person." 

"Why do I even try to reason with you?" 

Jae pretended to have not heard but Brian saw the slight smile on his face as he took the peeled potato and began cutting them. 

The thing is, Brian was not used to this; this blatant intrusion into his personal space. And he had a reason for that too. Brian's best friend was Sungjin (which in itself was some sort of miracle) who was weird and acted nothing like the way normal humans act when their friend was having a mental break down. 

Sungjin did not really know how to comfort anyone and Brian was being nice when he said that. In reality, if Sungjin actually opened his mouth, things would have got a lot worse than it was. So the next best step was food. 

Sungjin would make food (it was an unspoken rule that nobody entered his cooking space, ever)and Brian would eat it, and then somehow, feel better. The incident would never be spoken of again. 

Brian liked that. He was stubbornly independent and hated when he had to depend on others. Sungjin did not like to talk about feelings and fed people when things got too emotional or awkward. They were the perfect match. 

But when Jae did not do anything to hide the fact that he knew that Brian was nervous and instead directly approached him to make him feel better, truthfully Brian did not know how to react. The writer's actions made him feel a little vulnerable, but it lifted his mood without his knowledge. Jae's presence was bombarding into Brian's calculated, organized world and he wasn't sure whether he liked it or not. 

Brian was confused. 

"Keep the slices thin." He instructed, falling into a rhythm with his peeling and Jae (admittedly slow) but methodical slicing. He would have to figure things out; soon.   


_ 

Dowoon had been walking aimlessly. 

Back home in his overly priced studio apartment, every available space was covered with textbooks and reference books and unfinished essays that begged for his attention but Dowoon had decided that he would take a walk. Like he totally did not have a deadline looming above his head which could cost him his entire career; definitely not. 

He was feeling a little tired and lazy (even after sleeping for three hours straight), but he was still in his right mind. Even if he was procrastinating the hell out of his life, he still had common sense. 

But then there was no explanation as to why he ended up in front of **Hi,Hello** ,staring into the crowded place while blocking the pavement. There was also no explanation as to why he had decided to enter the diner, in his hoodie (that definitely had a stain somewhere) and his oldest pair of jeans with his hair disheveled and looking like train wreck. 

"Good Evening and welcome to **Hi, Hello** ,shall I direct you to a seat or are you here for takeaway?" Dowoon faintly recognized the tall, bespectacled waiter from somewhere but couldn't place where exactly. All he could think of was how good looking the waiter was and what a mess he must look like. 

Attempting for a smile, he nodded. "A table for one, please?"   


_ 

Jackson barged into the kitchen. "He's here guys! The Yoon Dowoon has arrived!" 

"Don't shout Jackson- wait who?"  "He came?"  "I thought he might just drop it all together."  "Did he order?" 

"One question at a time guys," Jackson unsuccessfully tried to stop the flow of questions. 

"He came earlier than I thought," remarked Brian with a shrug, seemingly cool with everything. "Who is the waiter assigned to him?" 

"Jae," replied Jackson looking very excited. "Oh, Wonpil also just arrived, by the way." 

"Good," Brian looked satisfied. "Calm down everyone, let's focus on the food an the results will come by itself."   


_ 

"What would you like to order?" 

Jae was expecting something else entirely. He had expected Yoon Dowoon to be the stereotypical critic-formal clothing, stiff smiles and a general air of disdain- but found himself face to face with an ordinary college student, who seemed to be genuinely in awe of his surroundings as he seated himself in the corner booth near the window. 

He wore comfortable clothing and looked like he had come to eat and not pick on bits of food and comment on it. Jae made a mental note in his mind to add a new character into his drama. 

Dowoon was studying his menu rather intently, like he was trying to memorize it. "What do you think-" he started to say, but his phone that was placed beside him started ringing. 

Jae didn't really peek, customers privacy and all that, he could clearly see a single word 'hyung' written on it. Dowoon started at the mobile, biting his lip uncertainly before flashing Jae an awkward smile. 

"Would you like me to leave-?" 

"No," Dowoon's voice was slow and deep. It was almost the soothing kind, but now he just sounded a little flustered. "No, it's okay." 

Jae nodded with a gentle grin, something he would do to try and calm down a frazzled puppy. 

"Hello, hyung." Dowoon tapped erratically on the table. He paused. "Yeah, about that," Dowoon definitely sounded guilty. "Tell the camera crew that the shoot is cancelled. I was feeling hungry-" He winced, Jae deduced that the person in the other end had started shouting, but continued "-so I'm in the diner now. I'm going to order now, bye hyung." 

Dowoon looked up at Jae, his warm eyes filled with a mad sort of mirth. Jae was liking this kid more and more. 

"What do you suggest I order?" 

"You can go with our Chef's special." Jae pointed to the custom made plaque card that showed the day's specials on the table. "It's made with the freshest ingredients and you won't get it on any other day than today." 

"Bibimbap?" Dowoon frowned. 

"Not any ordinary Bibimbap, obviously." Suddenly opening chords of piano music filled the diner. 

Attention shifting, Dowoon looked at the source of the sound, on the raised platform near the bar. In the vintage slash retro themed interior of the diner, the large grand piano with its lanky pianist seemed picture perfect. 

"Oh, is that Kim Wonpil?" 

"Do you know him?" Jae was surprised. Wonpil had never mentioned being close to Dowoon. 

"Somewhat," shrugged Dowoon. "We've talked once or twice, but we're not close or anything. We played together once, for a mini concert in college." 

"You're a pianist?" 

Dowoon laughed, like the idea seems ridiculous to even think about. "Drummer actually." Then looked at the plaque card, his attention back to food. "I normally take portions of the most interesting looking food on the menu, but usually they come in much smaller portions." 

"And I completely forgot," he said apologetically to Jae. "I'm Yoon Dowoon, a food critic. I should I have said that first." 

"I know," Jae nodded. 

"You did?" Wide eyes. _Jesus, this kid was cute._ "Wow." 

"Let's do this." Jae said helpfully, "you can start with the Bibimbap and then order your way through the menu. If you want, I can ask the chef to make smaller portions." 

"You can do that?" 

"If we ask specifically, yes we can." Jae explained, "We tend to have a lot of people who can't eat large size portions so we widen the options." 

"So the Bibimbap...?" 

Jae understood what he was trying to say. "Unfortunately the Chef's specials come in fixed portions. We cannot change that I'm afraid." 

Dowoon looked satisfied with the explanation. "I'll get one Chef's special then." 

"Excellent," Things were going smoothly, "Your food will arrive shortly, please do enjoy the music while you are waiting." 

Jae turned to leave, order in hand when he was stopped by Dowoon. 

"If it's not too much of a bother I'd like to meet the Chef while I'm having the dish. It helps me understand the dish in the Chef's perspective. It's the Head Chef who makes this, I assume?" 

_Oh well._

Forcing a smile on his face, Jae asked, "The Sous Chef is making today's special." 

_Oh.well._

"I'm hoping to meet him. I can, right?" 

_Oh.well._

"Of course," Jae sounded too bright when he said that, but Dowoon did not seem to notice it. 

_Oh well._

There was one rule that the staff of **Hi,Hello** tried to uphold since that incident which they lovingly called the 'zucchini incident'. It was to never, never again allow Park Sungjin to talk to the diners and to give any or every possible excuse if such a catastrophe was to occur. 

_Oh well, they're fucked._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to keep reminding myself that this is a short story.


	3. The Zucchini Incident and how Jae got hired

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos, and even more than that, comments are super appreciated guys. Really, they make my entire day. Also, I like to know what you think.

If Sungjin was feeling uncomfortable by the uncharacteristic silence that filled the _**Hi, Hello**_ kitchen, there was nothing to prove it. Looking completely unbothered by the stillness that descended after Jae's announcement, he washed his hands, dried it and then took the finished plate of Bibimbap with the air of a professional. 

Turning to Brian, who looked equally unaffected, he gave a small nod and stepped out of the kitchen, the black strings of the apron around his waist being the last thing they could see as the door shut behind him. 

The silence stretched for a millisecond longer and then suddenly everyone was crowed near the long window that allowed them to see the restaurant; talking all at once at full volume. 

Jae gave a guilty groan and said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, Boss." But suddenly Brian, who had been standing near his counter a second ago was missing, creating even more panic. "Boss? Boss? Boss- _ohmyGod Brian_!" 

The head chef was sitting on the floor, his back against his counter and repeatedly bashing his head against his knees, his earlier calm nowhere to be seen. 

"Head Chef-nim!" Seokjin at once rushed to Brian, trying to prevent the latter from hurting himself. 

Now the man curled tighter into himself, head on his hands and muttering a string of no, no, no much to the worry of everyone in the kitchen. 

"Congratulations, Mr. Jaehyung Park," said Jimin dryly, giving the man an unamused look from where she kneeled along with Seokjin beside the head chef, "You have broken him." 

Jae stood where he was, wanting to go close to Brian, but afraid of what Jimin might do if he went too close (he loved the women, but good lord she was _scary_ ). Instead he continued to apologize profusely until Jimin stood up and advanced towards him, making him stumble backwards until his back hit the door. 

"Jimin, let's be rational here, I made a mistake, I should have tried harder-" 

"I don't think you tried at all." Jimin growled. She was more than a head shorter than him and it was supposed to look cute, but Jae was downright terrified. "You're having fun, right?" 

"Fun, what fun-" Jimin slammed her palm on the door beside his ear with a bang making him flinch. "- _please don't kill me_." 

"I'm sure you're enjoying the drama Jae, that's why you came here afterall; to get a story. That's what you do, that's what you've always done." 

The room tensed, the staff wondering whether they should risk Jimin's wrath by interfering or not.Jae laughed uneasily. "Come on, you don't think-" 

Jimin glowered at him making him shrink back as far as he could with a wooden door behind him. If he put a little more force, he would be thrown backwards and into the main restaurant. 

"Jimin, it's okay." Brian said weakly, hand raised like he would in a classroom to answer a question. "It's not his fault." 

At once the intensity in her eyes softened, and the scowl eased into a worried frown. "But-" 

"I should trust Sungjin a little more, don't you think?" 

The room did not seem to really agree with him, but muttered their agreements anyway as they went back to work. Jimin gave Jae a final glare (while he nervously tried to look anywhere but at her) and then stalked back to her work station. 

"Noona, are you okay? You seemed pretty angry." Jungkook who worked next to Jimin asked cautiously. Jimin nodded, already focusing on rapidly whisking something in a bowl, sparing a glance at the head chef (who hadn't gotten up from the floor). 

"Jae and I have known each other for a long time, Kookie." She smiled a little, all of her earlier anger vaporizing. Jungkook did not realize himself let out the breath he was holding. "We are on each other's throats all the time." She looked at the only recently appointed young chef with a gentle grin. "Don't worry too much about Brian either, he'll be okay." 

"Is sous chef-nim really that bad at communicating?" Jungkook asked after a minute of silently working. 

Jimin gave a small laugh. "You have no idea. But he's really not bad- just a little pickier than most I guess. He's talented," she gave a small grunt as she gave her bowl a final whisk before proceeding to wrap a sheet of cling film .over it, "when it comes to food, but socializing is more of a challenge than we thought it was. Don't you know about the zucchini incident?" 

_ 

Now the zucchini incident was not called the zucchini incident until somebody mentioned that name many months later. Infact, right after that incident it was called _the day Kang Younghyun decided that Sungjin will not talk to customers and stay in the kitchen._

It's pretty obvious how old the incident was, given the fact that people actually knew who Kang Younghyun was then. Also, it was a long name and it got tiring to say it after a while so even though the said zucchini only makes a cameo, it managed to be in the two word title. 

It was a few months after opening Hi, Hello and there weren't as many customers as there were now. The diner was in all honesty a little understaffed, but it wasn't much of a problem until a local food blogger came in and complained that the service was not fast enough. 

Jimin was part of the diner since the beginning and was the one who had made the final course, dessert, for the complaining blogger. 

("Why are you referring to yourself in third person, noona?" 

"I'm the narrator, Jungkookie, shut it if you want to hear the rest of the story." 

"Yes ma'am.") 

She tried to explain that they had only recently opened but the blogger was having none of it. He wanted to see the owner immediately, which was not possible because even though the diner was not full there was quite a number of people and Brian was busy. 

"Is something the matter?" Apparently the blogger had found Sungjin's starters delicious and wanted to compliment it, but had forgotten about it when Jimin had arrived. Now two chefs stood in front of the blogger, in a seriously understaffed diner, and listened with little to no patience as the blogger continued to complain about late service. 

"Is the food to your liking?" Sungjin had asked, like he hadn't heard a word of what the blogger was saying. 

The blogger, an overly pompous man in his late thirties, looked hilariously furious at the blatant ignorance to his complains. "I'm talking about late service here and-" 

"May I know why you called me here?" Sungjin politely interested. Jimin tried to stifle her laughter. "I'm the one who prepared your starters." 

The man looked lost and said, "I wanted to compliment your dish, I'm a food blogger you see, but your late service has-" 

"You should have finished the dish if you wanted to compliment it." 

Sungjin was looking down at the plate with visible distaste. The plate was nearly empty save for pieces of zucchini that was pushed to the side and a bit of sauce. 

"It is finished." The blogger looked confused, thrown off by the way the conversation had taken a new angle entirely. 

The look of disappointment that Sungjin gave was strong enough for even Jimin to feel like she wanted to do something to wipe it off. "Clearly, it's not." 

"This is getting fucking hilarious." Jimin could see that the man was starting to feel very anxious. She couldn't blame him, Sungjin had that effect on people all the time. He was not very easy to handle in a conversation since he expected everyone to be as blunt as he was. "It is my wish what I eat and what I don't. Your only job is to cook it." 

Sungjin hardly looked bothered when he deadpanned, "Then why the fuck did you call me to compliment my food when you couldn't even finish it?" 

Jimin's mouth was hanging open now, shocked by the profanity that escaped the strictly formal chef. They were starting to gain attention and she thought she saw one of their waiters go inside the kitchen; probably to inform Brian about what was going on. 

"Did you-did you just-" The blogger looked so stupefied that it took Jimin all of her willpower to suppress her laughter. Even though what Sungjin did was wrong-the customer is always right when you are trying to run a business- it was satisfying to see someone so haughty come down to earth a little. 

"The zucchini was one of the primary ingredients of the dish." Sungjin looked upset, like he was scolding a toddler. "I don't understand how you found it delicious when you were missing the main ingredient." 

The blogger was getting red on face. Jimin wished he had finished eating the brownie on his plate before calling them. The ice cream was starting to melt. "Are you lecturing me? Do you know who I am. I am-" 

"Does it matter?" Sungjin asked. 

Now if anybody, anybody else in the world said that, Jimin had thought to herself then, it would have sounded rude. Yet, Sungjin looked and sounded perfectly composed and a little monotonous even. He did seem a little upset with the zucchini on the plate and kept glancing at it, but otherwise there was nothing that seemed to bother Sungjin the least bit. 

"Wha- _what did you say?_ " 

Sungjin would have said something legendary, but like that one annoying character that interrupted a would-have-been-a-kiss scene, Brian swooped in with apologies and saved the day. 

When Brian had entered the kitchen later, he had said nothing until two hours later when they had seated themselves on the tiny bar in their diner after all the customers had left. 

"I'm sorry, Younghyun-ah." Sungjin had begun after the silence had stretched tight enough that it hurt. 

"Do you mean it?" Brian looked at Sungjin without any trace of anger. There was a hint of understanding there, Jimin had thought with surprise. But that that time she was still new to their weird friendship, now it made a lot more sense to her than it did then. 

"No." Sungjin said simply, looking at Brian straight in the eye. "I don't think I did anything to offend him, but he still got offended I think. I apologized because I thought the situation called for it, did I do it wrong again?" 

"You didn't do it wrong, Sungjin-ah." Brian said tenderly. He uncorked a bottle of wine and methodically filled Sungjin's and Jimin's glasses. "But you don't have to say anything to me if you don't mean it." 

"Do you want me to make you ramen?" Sungjin asked worriedly. "Are you feeling stressed out?" 

Brian smiled. "I'm fine." 

Jimin felt like she was seriously third wheeling, but her inner fangirl screamed at the live bromance. If the whole world didn't already know, Jimin lived for bromance. 

("You ship people, noona. That's not bromance, that's romance." 

"Do you want me to dunk your head in boiling water?" 

"Sorry, I'll shut up now." 

"Good.") 

But of course the world wouldn't allow such a blessed moment to last a little longer because whatever was going to happen next was interrupted by a certain writer that Jimin was not sure whether she loved or hated. It's complicated. 

"Hi, I'm Park Jaehyung." The man was leaning against the counter casually behind Jimin, like he had been there all along. 

Jimin shrieked, nearly spilling her drink, Brian's fist had curled up and he had opted a slightly defensive stance and Sungjin, you guessed it, simply looked at Jae and nodded politely. "Hi, Park Jaehyung-ssi. Would you like some wine?" 

"Did you know he was behind me all along?" Jimin asked Sungjin, eyes narrowed. 

"Yes." Sungjin said cautiously. He had unknowingly raised his hands a little in a gesture of surrender. "I had assumed that you had seen him too." 

"What made you think that, Sungjin?"Brian, the poor guy, honestly looked tired. 

"Because I had seen him. But now that I think of it," Sungjin looked like he was in deep thought, "my logic is clearly flawed. I apologize." 

"No need to apologise." 

Jimin decided that if Brian continued to look so tired, she might just hug him. 

"But _I_ must apologize if I sound a little rude when I say this, Mr. Park, but the the diner is closed. Why are you here?" 

Jae grinned like he always did-as though he was meeting an old friend;there was so much of sincerity in it that it threw off people every time they saw it. It was impossible to look so genuine, but Jae managed to nail it every single time. "I saw that you are currently hiring people, so I thought I'd come and try my luck." 

"What, did your last drama fail or something? Nobody informed me." Jimin asked curiously. "Jae is a friend by the way." She added for the benefit of the other two. Brian nodded with a polite smile. Sungjin raised his wine glass to which Jae returned a playful salute. 

"My drama is fine, Jimin. If you talk like this," Jae leaned, his height allowing him to be taller than Jimin even though she was sitting on a high seat, "it will sound like you care." 

"Your drama?" Brian's eyes glinted with curiosity and little excitement. 

"I'm a writer actually. "Jae explained sheepishly. "I saw the little scene you guys had with that customer today-" 

"I hope it didn't cause you any inconvenience." 

"Not at all," Jae said happily. "In fact, the reason I want to work here is because of that. This diner seems to be really interesting, Mr....?" 

"Kang Younghyun." 

"Yes, Mr. Kang. I feel like working here will help me write the latest piece that I've just started. It's food centric and I've been eating out a lot these days in hopes that I'll get some inspiration but maybe working might be the magic mantra, or something like that. I promise I won't slack off or anything." 

Brain nodded slowly. "Right." 

"So what I want to say is," Jae folded his hands and looked straight into Brian's eyes solemnly, "please hire me, master?" 

Sungjin choked on his drink. Jimin was torn between being shocked at what Jae said or the fact that Sungjin was shocked at what Jae said. 

Brian looked like he couldn't handle life anymore. " _Master?_ " 

"Yeah, cause you'll, like, be my superior if you hire me. Is it too strong?" Jae looked worried. "Should I call you, sir?" Brian shook his head frantically. "Boss?" Jae seemed satisfied. "Boss it is then. So am I hired, Boss?" 

Jimin was going to hug Brian any minute now. He simply nodded, too tired to do anything else. "Sure, why not?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From the next chapter, the story should be almost completely Sungjin-Dowoon centric. I have a few important exams around the corner, so quick updates may be next to impossible, but I'll try my best to fit in another chapter before my exams begin.


	4. I'm Glad, Said Sungjin

Kim Wonpil gave him a wide, toothy smile and a small wave before he started with his next piece and Dowoon suddenly felt telltale signs of guilt pricking him as he waved back. 

After the mini concert, Dowoon, like he had with every other person he had ever met, slowly but surely drifted away from the pianist. Sometimes his manager jokes that if Dowoon hadn't been forced to keep in touch with him, he would have definitely disappeared without a word (Dowoon is too nice to say that it was probably true). 

It's not like Dowoon was an introvert or anything of the sort. Pick him on a good day (or on a situation where it is needed) and people are shocked to find him amicably chatting to perfect strangers like they have been friends for years. But somehow at the end of the day he will find himself alone, once again, in his tiny studio apartment like it was meant to be. 

And honestly, Dowoon didn't mind it at all, but he attended a college and found himself making friends-acquaintances- who did not understand why a certain Yoon Dowoon suddenly disappeared without a trace. Some people thought he was outright rude, some people ignored him back, and some accepted him the way he was. 

And Kim Wonpil was someone who came in the final category apparently. 

Dowoon promised himself that he would talk to Wonpil after he was done eating; maybe catch up and talk about some new gig or something, he wasn't sure(he didn't particularly care). 

A man in white chef's attire and a black apron entered his line of vision, carrying a tray and on it a bowl of steaming food. Putting down the tray in front of him, he said, "Your order." 

Dowoon heard another faded accent rumbling beneath the almost impeccably spoken Seoul accent, but couldn't really place it. He looked approvingly at the colorful dish in front of him, steam wafting up to him and bathing him in an odor that reminded him of home. 

He fought down the tiredness and the want to run away. He had been feeling it for quite long time, maybe two or three months back. Dowoon did not want to admit it, he hated that it was true, but he was starting to find food repulsive. Taking food had started to tire out his tongue and leave him exhausted and numb. 

He was straying to find grey patches in what he thought was the most dazzling career he could have. The career that he had handpicked and fought for with everything he had. 

It scared him, terrified him shitless on most days, but Dowoon never really felt hungry anymore. 

"I'm Yoon Dowoon." He rose up to greet the chef who gave him a polite tilt of his head. "I'm a food critic and I'd like to thank you for taking some time to meet me." 

"Park Sungjin." The black haired chef said, a hint of a smile playing at his lips. "Pleasure to meet you." 

"If you are not too busy," Dowoon gestured towards the seat opposite him, "would it be alright for you to sit down and have a chat?" 

As they seated themselves, Dowoon felt himself get into a mode that he reserved exclusively for his critiquing. Without him really realizing it, he blocked out the sounds of the piano and the people around him and focused only on the food. 

"Dolsot Bibimbap." Dowoon muttered softly, picking up the spoon. Hot stone pot bibimbap. It was served in a traditional granite bowl with impeccable-satisfying- presentation. Even the side dished looked delectable, but Dowoon was hardly thrown off by any of this. 

He had visited more restaurants that he can count and if compared to the dishes there, there was little to no creativity from the Chef's part. It looked like the picture perfect Bibimbap, nothing more, nothing less. 

"Is there anything you'd like to comment about this dish, Chef Park?" Dowoon's spoon hovered over the bright yellow egg yolk, his other hand directing the scent towards him so that he could guess most of the ingredients before he could taste it. 

"Yes," said the chef. Dowoon waited for the explanation to the dish-the ingredients, or the time taken, or the specialties or even a back story. It was the perfect beginning; the creator's prologue. "I'd like you to eat it before it cools down." 

Dowoon snapped out of his mode for a second, looking up at the chef who held no teasing or haughtiness, but simple sincerity. But it was only for a second. 

He had seen enough quirky chef's to know how to deal with the situation. He complied with the demand obediently. The next second his spoon had dived onto the egg, cutting through it so that the yellow ran through. Then he picked up the sauce from the side and poured the entire thing over the dish. 

Finally he began mixing, careful not to mess too much with the rice at the bottom as pulled it up to his view. He all but moaned in appreciation as the perfectly golden, crispy underside of the rice came into his view. 

It was many, many hours later as he lay on his bed at night that he realized that, seconds before the food had entered his mouth, it had not been the nausea that he had been carrying since morning, but excitement. Childish, unprofessional, rookie excitement that tickled your chest and made you feel weird things in your stomach. 

The world stopped. 

It did not pause, it slammed on the brakes and came into a screeching halt, nearly killing him in the process. 

He felt himself chew with near desperation, suddenly afraid that the food was going to disappear from in front of his eyes. He didn't look up, didn't speak, didn't even think as he spooned his next bite. 

See, Dowoon was a food citric. His entire job description was to simply taste food and comment on it and whether he sounded narcissistic or not, he knew he was good at the job. If the food was good, he said it was good. If it was bad, he said it was. He had good grasp of his adjectives and taste buds. 

Yet Dowoon found himself unable to comment on the food. Not because he was out of adjectives, but because he was busy shoving food into his mouth. 

It didn't make sense that something so ordinary could be so, so _addicting_.Each morsel was perfectly seasoned-almost like Chef Park had given individual attention to each grain and slice- and Dowoon felt himself wanting to keep his mouth full each time it started to empty so that the taste never left him. 

The flavors didn't explode, they cracked open and enhanced with every chew. Dowoon had tasted Bibimbap before, but it seemed that he had never really _eaten_ it. 

_

"Jimin, everything okay?" Brian asked, watching with concern as the frown in the female chef's face grew deeper as she looked out into the restaurant. When she did not reply, he himself approached her and looked out at what she was looking. 

From their point, their view to Yoon Dowoon and Sungjin's table was near perfect. But the sight that greeted him dropped any ounce of smile left in Brian. 

Sungjin sat, arms folded as he looked at the young critic eat. 

But instead of looking happy or content at their food, as Brian had trusted Sungjin would do justice to, Yoon Dowoon was in tears. 

_ 

It was when his spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl, that Dowoon snapped back into reality. When he looked at the Chef, an apology ready in his tongue for not having said a word the entire, he saw the world in a blurry mess. 

He had teared up. 

Park Sungjin wordlessly offered him a tissue that Dowoon took with considerable embarrassment and hastily wiped away the tears from his eyes and cheeks. 

"I'm so sorry," said Dowoon thickly. "I didn't mean to-I really don't-I seriously have no idea what came over me." 

The Chef looked at him strangely, an indecipherable expression on his face. His gaze almost felt like he could see exactly what was going on in his mind. Dowoon looked down, feeling heat creep up his face rapidly. Between the embarrassment and the exhilarating high that the food has left him, his mind suddenly found that the perfect time to comment that the Chef was not only quite talented (at making Dowoon a mess) but also quite good looking. 

"It's perfectly alright." Chef Park put the empty utensils back onto the tray. "Would you like anything else?" 

Dowoon scolded himself to behave and looked at the Chef like he hadn't been thinking of his looks seconds before. The food had left him with too many emotions that couldn't comprehend. 

"I don't think I can eat anything more." He felt his eyes widen in wonder as he heard himself saying for the first time in months, "I'm full." 

Then Park Sungjin smiled. 

Dowoon gawked like a fish as he saw the stoic features of the Chef shift into something completely different. Like his dishes. 

"I'm glad," said Park Sungjin, looking like he had lost ten years with that boyish smile on his face. "I'm really glad." He stood up, empty plates in hand and Dowoon felt sad all of a sudden. 

Confused at his own weird feelings, he got up too, a large smile mirroring that of the chef's. "I'll visit again, Chef Sungjin. And I hope to try more dishes then." 

"I'll look forward to it, Mr. Yoon." Chef Park walked away and Dowoon's eyes followed him as he climbed up the slight elevation that led to the kitchen and disappeared begin its large doors. 

Kim Wonpil had finished his piece, prompting a round of applause. 

Dowoon clapped along robotically, eyes still lingering on the kitchen doors as he walked towards Wonpil to say hi. He was feeling happier suddenly. 


	5. Dowoon makes friends (and a neighbour)

Dowoon turned around and came face to face with a grinning Kim Wonpil. 

He stumbled back with wide eyes, his arms raised partially up in surrender having time only to utter a, "Holy fuck-!"and then promptly tripped on a lamp post that stood conveniently behind him at that exact moment. 

" _OhmyGodImsosorry!_ "Wonpil shrieked with part guilt and part worry as he rushed beside groaning Dowoon. "Can you get up? Do you want me to call an ambulance?" 

His ankle was screaming even with his (and now Wonpil's) pressure on it, but it was pretty obvious with the rapidly receding pain that there was nothing really wrong with it. He looked at Wonpil with a legitimate confusion, "I just tripped, why would we call an ambulance for that?" 

"At least he asked you this time." A pair of black jeans and equally black combat boots appeared in his vision from his view from the ground. He looked up to see a man around his age, smiling down at him with worry lined in his face. He turned to look at Wonpil with exasperation. "Last time he called without informing any of us and I had to explain to some very pissed off ambulance staff why they were called when the only problem was _some minor burns_." 

He offered a hand adorned with silver bracelets to Dowoon. "Hi, I'm Kang Younghyun, I don't think we've met before." 

"Yoon Dowoon." He said grasping the surprisingly strong hand and pulling himself. "Nice to meet you." 

Wonpil got up from his side too, whining at Younghyun. "You can't spread around stories like that, hyung. I'm trying to keep up a reputation here." 

So he was older than them then, Dowoon deduced as he patted down himself and brushed away dust from his jeans. 

"What reputation?" Younghyun asked playfully flicking the other man's forehead before turning to Dowoon. "Are you alright though? Wonpil is really quiet when he walks so we have all experienced this at least once. We will have to tie a bell around his neck if this continues." 

"I'm fine, that's okay." Dowoon wasn't sure whether his pride was, but he'll have to make do with what he has left. "It's alright, hyung, I got a little surprised, but I'm fine, seriously." 

Wonpil looked at him with wide, guilty eyes that was literally inches away from melting his heart. Dowoon wished he wouldn't feel so guilty for making the pianist so guilty. Curse his mother for drilling manners in him when he was a kid. "I know, but I still feel so bad, Dowoonie." 

Dowoon saw Younghyun's eyebrows raise up at the nickname and he was honestly not surprised. Wonpil had sprung up the name randomly after a practice session during the rehearsal sessions they had for the concert and Dowoon had felt too socially awkward to correct him so the name stuck. 

"Say, let's do one thing then." Younghyun said. "Why don't you join us for a cup of coffee, Dowoon-ssi? I've a lot to thank you for anyway." 

"Yes. Let's do that. You'll join us won't you, Dowoonie?" Wonpil's entire face had brightened up with the prospect of treating him out for coffee. Dowoon did not expect his short break from the library to go about like this. He had managed to avoid human contact for an entire three days and he even calmed down his manager after he had randomly entered the diner without the camera crew. 

He wasn't in the best of moods and truthfully, he didn't want to join them because he will have to spend time and energy remaining polite throughout. 

"Yeah," he said resignedly. "I could do with a cup of coffee, I guess." 

_

"By the way, Younghyun-ssi-" Dowoon began as they waited for their orders in one of the well known coffee shops near the campus. 

"Call him Brian." Wonpil interrupted distractedly as he flipped through the menu. 

"What?" Dowoon asked in confusion. Beside Wonpil, Younghyun had uttered a loud groan and buried his head into his arms muttering, "I didn't get to have my real name for even a full chapter." Dowoon wondered what he meant by that. 

"Brian." Wonpil briefly looked up from the menu. "Everybody calls him that. It's highly likely that fifty percent of his staff don't know his real name." 

"Staff?" 

"Brian hyung owns **Hi, Hello**." 

Before Dowoon could react, Brian had already started speaking. "And I realize I still haven't thanked you for that wonderful review you put up on your blog, Dowoon-ssi. I'm glad you enjoyed our food." 

Dowoon could only nod as he tried to process everything. 

"Honestly I thought you'd write something bad about us." Brian said with a sheepish smile. 

"I'd never do that," Dowoon said a little too quickly that even Wonpil looked up from his hunting in the menu and forced himself to control his emotions as he continued,"The food was absolutely delectable." 

Infact it was more than that. Dowoon had suddenly found himself thinking about the dish all the time, and almost all the time the Chef was included in the package. He may have done everything to avoid all human interaction, but that Chef had left a strong enough impression to remain in his thoughts the entire time. 

Brian blinked, then smiled happily. "I couldn't be happier. When I saw you talking to Chef Park, I saw you get a little,"the man hesitated, "...emotional." 

Dowoon didn't need what was left of his pride anyway. 

He cleared his throat and looked away, not even trying to attempt to salvage the situation. It must have been the momentary attack of embarrassment, because he didn't hear another person come near the table until he heard a familiar voice say, "I didn't know you guys had invited Yoon Dowoon-ssi. I'd have come a little earlier." 

And there stood Park Sungjin. 

Without his chef's attire-Dowoon felt his breath catch in surprise-he looked like he had lost three or four years all at once. His hair was wind blown, there was a pinkish flush from the cold on his cheeks and his attire of sweat pants and thick hoodie made Dowoon want to examine him for a while more. In his hands there were three cups of coffee and a bottle of water which he put on the table. 

"Chef Park," Dowoon said, his muscles easing into an automatic smile. "Nice to meet you again." 

"Why would you have come earlier if it was Dowoonie, hyung?" Wonpil had a shit eating grin on his face. Even Brian looked fairly amused. 

"Because its polite." Sungjin shrugged and proceeded to sit beside Dowoon. "What is so interesting in that menu, Wonpil?" 

Wonpil tapped at the menu, not minding the sudden subject change and said seriously, "I like the pictures. Also I'm trying to help you both gain profit by scrounging for competition." 

"We own a diner, Wonpil," said Sungjin dryly as he twisted off the cap from his bottled water in one smooth motion. "Not a coffee shop." 

"You own thirteen percent of the diner, hyung. That's not much." 

"Thirteen percent?" Even though Dowoon couldn't understand fifty percent of the conversation, he wasn't feeling very awkward at all. Maybe he should make more friends. 

"I told him we'll split up the profit." Brian said taking a meaningful sip of his coffee. "But he wants thirteen percent or nothing." 

"You're not going to say anything to defend yourself, Sungjin hyung?" Wonpil was prodding Sungjin, who simply said, "I like the number thirteen." 

_

They stayed in that coffee shop for more than an hour and Dowoon spoke more than he ever had in almost a month even though he hardly participated in the conversation. Maybe that was the reason why he stayed. Even though he did not speak much, they seemed happy to include him in everything like he had been friends with them for years. 

Dowoon found himself shocked to know that someone as talkative and friendly as Brian had someone like Sungjin as his best friend. And Sungjin, perhaps, spoke even lesser than him during the entire time which made him feel a little better about his own awkwardness. 

"It's getting late," said Dowoon, the last dregs of laughter that they shared over some hilarious anecdote about Wonpil's classmate still lingering on his face. "I should go back, otherwise I'll never finish my projects." 

"That reminds me of my projects." Wonpil hit his head on the table with a defeated expression on his face. "Final year sucks." 

"You're graduating this year right?" Dowoon remembered Wonpil mentioning it once before. Not that he really needed to because everyone he knew who studied music in the campus and otherwise knew Wonpil the pianist and looked up to him like he was a God. 

"I am," said Wonpil miserably. "That reminds me Dowoonie," he lifted his head up slightly, an innocently inquisitive expression that Dowoon had tagged dangerous in his head filling up his eyes. "Where do you live? I wanted to return that book which I borrowed from you but apparently you don't live in the campus dorms." 

"You can give that book later." Dowoon said offhandedly, not really caring. Then without thinking much about it he continued, "I live in an apartment near the campus. Do you know the grey buildings with, like a playground in the front? Yeah that's mine." 

All three of them were looking at him weirdly. 

He laughed nervously," Is something wrong?" 

"Which apartment number exactly?" Wonpil was looking very serious, but Dowoon saw a hint of an evil smile somewhere. 

"Why?" 

"Just tell me." 

"Block B, apartment 409." Dowoon recited. "Why, hyung? Do you want to break in or something?" 

But the two of them were already looking at Sungjin. 

There was surprise on Sungjin's face, but his tone was casual when he said, "Oh, we are neighbors then."


	6. Cherry Blossoms in February

Darkness settled around them like a comfortable blanket as they walked back home together. 

Sungjin matched his slow pace without complaint and hadn't spoken a word since the two of them had gotten out of the coffee shop. 

Dowoon hadn't tried to make conversation either. He was using the silence to try and sort his thoughts. How the hell had he not known that Sungjin lived opposite him for almost two full years? It was true that his social persona was only just that, a persona that he wore when he went for work and took off the moment he reached home. But it was ridiculous that he hadn't known who his own neighbour was. 

_Would you have cared if it was not Sungjin?_ A rational part of his brain asked all too calmly. Dowoon wondered briefly whether he would have before dropping that thought all together. Knowing who his neighbor was essential for people like him who live alone. 

Suddenly Dowoon seriously hated his lack of any real friends. 

"It is not a surprise that we haven't had a chance to meet yet," said Sungjin. 

Dowoon hated it when people tried to initiate conversation. It sounded stale and forced to his ears. The uninvited sound of speech shattered apart the silence that Dowoon loved, even if that silence left him lonely and a little hollow most of the time. 

But Sungjin's voice seemed to steep into the silence slowly, like tea in water; colourful and fragrant, but not unbearably so. It never disturbed anything, but enhanced and transformed it into something unnaturally alluring. 

Sungjin was looking up at the night sky, the crisp February winds flushing his cheeks, a wistful expression on his face when he continued,"Both of us have packed schedules. Between my time in the diner and other activities and your time in college and your critiquing, I don't think there was much probability in the first place that we would meet." 

Dowoon wordlessly agreed, suddenly finding his throat too dry to speak. He blamed it on the cold and tightened his coat closer to him. 

"Also if it is any consolation, I am kinda happy that we met with you tasting my cooking." Sungjin tilted his head to his side, streetlights creating an otherworldly halo behind his head , and-holy mother of all Gods- gave him a quirky little smile. "I like my first impression be good at least." 

Dowoon suddenly had the stupidest urge to touch the other's lips; just to check if it's real. He blamed that one on his lack of sleep. 

Thankfully his conversational skills hadn't rusted all too much with the cold or his lack of sleep. So he found enough sense to use his usual tactic when he didn't have much opinion, but had enough drive to at least continue the conversation. Randomly kicking an abandoned can on the sidewalk he asked, "First impression to be good atleast?" He laughed, suddenly remembering Jae's panicked face when he asked to meet Sungjin. "What happens after?" 

But his only answer was silence. 

Dowoon gave one last kick to the tin can that clattered away with a loud clack, clack, clack, becoming fainter as it rolled farther and farther from them. He turned to look at Sungjin, who blinked at him with a curious expression on his face. "Is something wrong, Sungjin-hyung?" He had slipped into the familiar term after much persuading from Wonpil and Brian; the man in question had neither accepted nor rejected it so Dowoon decided to go with it for the time being. 

"You sound really nice when you laugh." 

It was like a throwback to the time when he ate that first spoon of Bibimbap. The world crashed into silence, Sungjin words resounding louder than possible in ears. His body felt impossibly hot in the cold weather. His heart clenched, a pang of surprise and shock lacing it throughly. He was finding it hard to breathe. 

_You sound really nice when you laugh._

__"Th-Thanks." Dowoon heard himself stumble through the word like a child learning to pronounce for the first time. He smiled nervously, refusing to look up and confront the expression on Sungjin's face."That was a little unexpected, to be honest."_ _

__"I didn't mean to say that out loud." Sungjin sounded a little mortified beside him. Dowoon refused to sneak a peak. "I'm so sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."_ _

__"It's alright." Dowoon whispered, looking at his battered sneakers that he had thrown on before he came out for a walk. It's bright red had faded out into a sickly orange, but it was sentimental. He debated the pros and cons in buying a new one._ _

__"But I meant it."_ _

__Dowoon stopped altogether and abandoned the idea of walking until Sungjin decides to stop dropping one bomb after the next. Succumbing under the temptation and the stress that the silence following the Chef's statement put him, he turned and looked at Sungjin._ _

__His unwavering state did nothing but assure him that Sungjin was not lying._ _

__"I-" Dowoon honestly did not know what to say. So he bluntly said the truth, "I don't know how to respond to this."_ _

__Sungjin shrugged, not bothered at all. "You don't have to, I understand perfectly. It's annoying to find the right words to express what you're feeling at that moment. Plus it has to sound polite enough that nobody gets hurt and friendly enough so that it doesn't too formal or uptight." The man sighed, "What a hard world we live in."_ _

__"Yeah." Dowoon said slowly, not believing what he was hearing. This is not how it's supposed to go. Sungjin was supposed to say something stupid that would make Dowoon hate him forever. Then they would go back to being neighbour that never knew of each others existence and live happily ever after. "Not everybody understands like you seem to, hyung."_ _

__"That's what I meant I said at least my first impression should be good." Sungjin's voice seemed to sink deeper into the silence, like he was getting exhausted with all the speaking. Dowoon could relate very _very_ well. Sungjin wasn't trying to be rude. The amount of conversation was just draining him. "I don't find idle conversation very entertaining." _ _

__"I think I understand." Dowoon did not whether Sungjin understood _his_ message. He wanted the older man to know it was okay if he didn't feel like talking. Dowoon could understand that. He was more than fine with that arrangement. _ _

__"Thankyou," murmured Sungjin, the syllables soft and gentle, like a shy but warm kiss on the winter's cold cheek. Then the world went back to its chaotic state again and Dowoon could finally here the noise of the cars on the busy street and the people talking loudly._ _

__They had just continued walking (why do his apartment suddenly seem so far away?) when the familiar, hurried sound of a bicycle bell reached them and out of nowhere, the cycle itself was hurtling towards him in full speed. Deciding that it was impossible to move out of the way in the last minute, Dowoon prepared himself for the inevitable crash._ _

__He could already see it happening: the cycle ramming against what was hopefully a softer, less dangerous part of his body, the pain that would shoot through him all of a sudden, apologizing, probably getting an earful from the cyclist for not moving out of the way._ _

__He could see the cyclist's face now. The woman's eyes had widened and there was slight panic as she tried to find an alternate route where there weren't throngs on people that she could hit. Dowoon tensed and closed his eyes just as he felt an arm powerfully grab his waist and pull him towards what he assumed was a chest._ _

__The arm had twisted his entire body to the side so that Dowoon had a mouthful of fabric and a nose full of the scent of spices. He stilled as Sungjin, with his arm still holding Dowoon tightly against him, apologized profusely to the woman._ _

__He slowly pulled away from Sungjin's hold, but found no resistance. When he had gotten out of the the hold and looked at Sungjin who was looking anywhere but at him, Dowoon suddenly missed the warm scent of spices that generously perfumed Sungjin._ _

__He was going mad, that was the only explanation to his weird urges._ _

__Dowoon waited, like Sungjin had before, until those eyes were focused on him again. "Thankyou," whispered Dowoon, afraid that if he spoke too loudly, something might break. But what was there that could be broken apart?_ _

__Sungjin gave him a small, but sincere smiled and nodded. Patting his jacket clad back, the older said with the same whisper, "Let's go home."_ _

__For an instant Dowoon thought he saw cherry blossoms, pink and and freshly bloomed, above him, covering the night sky. Then it was back to its dark, inky colour again, stars scattered around like a burst of freckles here and there. It was beautiful. Everything was._ _


	7. The One That Dowoon Trusts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankyou for all the support guys! I wish y'all a really great year ahead!!

The mug slipped out of his hand and fell with a muffled thump on his carpeted floor; hot coffee splashed haphazardly all over his bare feet and floor. 

Dowoon looked at his hands, not finding it in him to move as the hot liquid burned his skin. He stood there unresponsively and would have continued standing that way for god knows how long hadn't it been for his door bell ringing. Slowly, lethargically, he shook his foot to clumsily get rid of the liquid on his foot and stumbled blearily to his door. 

He pulled out his door key from the bowl in his shoe rack, but paused before he could actually open it. There was a sense of familiar nausea creeping up every inch of his body as he thought of his manager that stood on the other side of the door. More than nausea, Dowoon would have liked to describe the feeling as dread. 

Because nausea would mean that he did not like his manager which was definitely not true. His manager was cool. He put up with everything he demanded, he placated the rejected restaurant owners, he controlled all the business related phone calls that reached Dowoon. But most of all, he respected his space and genuinely seemed to cared for him. 

He also understood the fact that he was managing a sleep deprived, procrastinating, college going student and worked to make his visits to restaurants accordingly. So Dowoon didn't mind letting slide the fact that he wanted to visit him at ten in the morning even though it was a Monday. 

The feeling of dread was not for the manager, but the news that he would bring. 

Shaking his head, he forced a pleasant smile on his face, pressed the button to deactivate his burglar alarm and twisted the key. 

But it was not his manger who stood on the other side of the door, smiling too brightly for a Monday morning. Dowoon recognized him immediately as the guy who had taken his order at **Hi,Hello**.His spectacles were missing today and he was wearing an oversized hoodie and jeans instead of formal clothing, but Dowoon was pretty sure it was the same guy. 

It was his smile; Dowoon had wanted to learn how to smile like him from the first time he had seen it. It was friendly, but not so much so that it made you uncomfortable. The perfect, social friendly smile. 

"Hello," said Dowoon, every bit of his surprise prominent. Then more hesitantly, "Jae-ssi right?" 

"Park Jaehyung, at your service." Jae said with his unwavering grin. He waved a book at Dowoon," I came to return this." 

Dowoon took it hesitantly and looked at it. It was his music journal that he had left at Wonpil's place a few months back. It was one of the main excuses that Wonpil used to talk with him, Dowoon thought a little sadly to himself. Wonpil was nice, he would miss his friendship. 

"You didn't have to take all the trouble." Dowoon leafed through the pages, satisfied to find them the way he had last seen it. "I don't have much use of it for the time being anyway." 

"You know Wonpil," Jae waved a hand dramatically and then tried to imitate the pianist," _What if he secretly hates me because I didn't return it quicker? Save me, hyung-hyung!_ " 

Dowoon laughed, "Hyung-hyung?" 

Jae shook his head exasperatedly. "Don't even ask. Apparently taking _hyung_ out of _Jaehyung_ makes more sense to him than _Jae_ like literally everyone else." 

Dowoon was feeling a little better after laughing. "But you still returned the book in place of him." 

"I had ulterior motives." Jae lowered his voice, sounding a little dangerous suddenly. 

His eyebrows shot up. Dowoon's bleary morning voice sounded clear when he asked, "Care to elaborate?" 

But Jae was laughing," I should stick to writing, my acting is terrible. I wanted to do a short interview, Dowoon-ssi." 

Suddenly everything made sense to Dowoon at once. 

Park Jaehyung. Writing. Acting. 

"You're _Park Jaehyung._ "Dowoon looked at him in awe. This was the man that had written some his most favorite dramas of all time. Dowoon could feel himself shake with excitement. 

Jae frowned in confusion. "Yeah. I thought I introduced myself..." 

"No,no," said Dowoon in frustration. "You are the _writer_ Park Jaehyung. No wonder you looked so familiar that day. I love your writing, it's fantastic!" 

Jae gave an embarrassed grin, suddenly looking shy. "Thanks, man. You have no idea how much it means to me." 

"Wow." Dowoon said in disbelief. "It's an honor, seriously." 

"Then," There was a bright glint in his eyes, "you wouldn't mind sparing me a few minutes?" 

With considerable embarrassment, Dowoon realized that he hadn't even thought of inviting his favorite writer in. "Of course, obviously." 

"So I'm writing this food centric drama," Jae began as he entered the apartment, "I'm still building up the story, but since you are a food critic you may- shit, I think your mug fell down, there's coffee all over the carpets." 

Dowoon looked at the stained carpets. And then almost as if to make fun of him, his phone rang from the coffee table at the same time. He glanced that the screen. 

_Mom_

Knowing that Jae was looking at him curiously, he lowered the volume and turned the phone upside down. Then he crossed the length of his tiny living room to pick up the fallen mug and put some tissues on the wet spots. His chest was constricting in a bad way, and his heart was growing heavy. Any excitement he had when he talked to Jae had drained away rapidly. 

And it may have shown on his face, because an extremely worried expression replaced the writer's smile. "Dowoon-ssi, are you okay?" 

Dowoon bit his lip and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm okay." 

"Sit down." Jae himself sat on his couch and patted the space next to him. His voice gentle, but Dowoon did not mistake the command in it. Obediently he sat down next to Jae. But him sitting down next Jae meant that he couldn't see the older's face unless he turned, which would be awkward because Jae was staring straight ahead at his bookshelves. 

"I'm not going to say anything because it is none of my business." Jae sounded tired. Dowoon didn't want to hear any of it, but he listened silently. "But I can't ignore what I saw, and you shouldn't either." 

"You don't understand what is happening, Jae-ssi." Dowoon wanted to sound annoyed, but he just sounded pathetic and whiny. Everything was getting so tiring. 

"I don't," agreed Jae. "But I want you to tell what's bothering you to someone, anyone you trust. It's impossible for you to talk to me, I wouldn't talk about my problems to a person I've only met a total of two times." 

Dowoon said nothing. 

"It'll be hard Dowoon, but trust on this one, you'll feel better." Jae got up from the couch. "I'll come another time, okay?" 

Dowoon looked at Jae, paused, nodded. "Okay."

_

"So Dowoon is the dead neighbour?" Brian asked curiously. 

Sungjin nodded from the opposite station, tasting the soup he was stirring. Visibly wincing, he said in distaste, "This needs more salt, Younghyun. Who made this?" 

"Dowoon's dead?" Jimin paused her furious dicing of onions with shock. 

"No Dowoon's not dead. Hyung, here, let me taste it." Brian leaned over so that Sungjin's tasting spoon could reach him. "Jesus, you're right. Who made the soup?" 

"Then why are calling him the dead neighbor if he isn't dead yet?" Jimin's voice was muffled in the end as her onions went into the waiting pan next to her and burst into a sharp sizzling sound when it heat the hot surface. 

"Jungkook-ssi how could you forget salt of all things?" Sungjin glared, gesturing at the soup. 

"Apparently people hardly ever see him outside his apartment, so much so that the land lady thought he was dead." Brian informed Jimin, and then sighed as Jungkook listened to Sungjin's scoldings with a terrified expression. "Seokjin-ssi? A little help?" 

Seokjin gave him a look of pity. "On it." And dragged away Jungkook from Sungjin, promising to educate him better. 

"Since when is Yoon Dowoon, Sungjin's neighbor?" 

Brian flipped his steak before it got burnt, "Since forever apparently." 

"You never told us that he was your neighbour, Sungjin." Jimin scolded, sautéing mushrooms to go with her caramelized onions. 

"He didn't know until yesterday." Brian said grinning. Sungjin shrugged, "We never had a chance to meet, that's all." 

"Jae's right, this is diner is more interesting- is that your phone ringing Sungjin?" 

Even Sungjin looked surprised as quickly washed his hands and dried it, before cautiously pulling out his mobile. 

"Who is it?" Brian asked leaning forwards, trying to peek from his station. 

"Dowoon." Sungjin flashed the phone in his direction, muttering, "Why is he calling me?" 

"Hello, Dowoon." Sungjin leaned against his counter. Jimin and Brian exchanged excited glances. 

"Two Chef's specials for table one," said Jae bursting into the kitchen with his orders. Brian nodded and set to work, but kept glancing at Sungjin. 

"What?" Sungjin stood up straighter, voice suddenly turning a little panicky. 

"What's going on?" Jae asked not so discreetly. Jimin and Brian glared at him, shushing him at the same time. Raising his hands in surrender, he asked a little more quietly,"What's going on?" 

"Where are you now?" Sungjin had started to remove his apron and began clearing away his station. 

"Dowoon called." Jimin said distractedly. "I wonder if he's okay." 

"No he's not," muttered Jae to himself. 

"What?" Brian looked at him. 

"Nothing." 

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes, okay? Fifteen minutes, I promise." Sungjin ended the call, already moving towards the changing room behind the kitchen. 

"Sungjin what's going on?" Brian asked alarmed, when Sungjin reappeared in casual wear. 

"I'm taking my lunch break now," said Sungjin, nearly running out of the kitchen. 

"Hyung! Wait-!" Brian rushed to catch up with Sungjin, but Jae stopped him,"Don't. Sungjin will explain it later." 

"Do _you_ know what's going on?" 

Jae looked entertained. "Sungjin is taking his lunch break at seven in the evening, _that's_ what's going on."


	8. Sungjin

Sungjin had declared that he would become a Chef when he was ten years old with all the graveness a child could hold with a decade's worth of experience in life.

His parents and relatives had laughed, thinking that it was just phase that kids in his age had. He would want to become a Chef today, a pilot tomorrow, an astronaut in a week. It would grow and change.

But it was only his third aunt from his mother's side (who was perhaps the only person Sungjin actively tried to keep in touch with among his relatives even now) who had noticed that this was the first time he had ever expressed his ambition to become something, and perhaps, his aunt had said prophetically, the last time.

And she had hit the bullseye with that.

Because in ten years of living, Sungjin had found out the perfect formula to lead a comfortable and happy life; if he stuck to one profitable passion and never let go of it, he would have a successful and happy life. This resulted, much to the horror of his poor parents, in him abandoning anything he thought was unnecessary for the cultivation of his one interest.

He grew up to become the abnormal one in a world that had surprisingly too many abnormalities that people didn't seem to notice and shattered his parent's dreams of moulding their only son to their dreams and ambitions.

But various doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists would assure his parents, through the course of his transition from childhood to adolescence to adulthood that Sungjin was perfectly normal-mentally and physically. Infact, Sungjin might be a little more intelligent than the average, but that was nothing to be afraid of.

Sungjin had tried to explain to his parents one too many times about his decision, but it was kind of hard to convince anyone that a decision made when he was ten years old was a smart one, even if it was.

It was during the course of that, that Sungjin came across another truth that would keep him in the peak of success for the rest of his career. If he put his mind to something and worked hard for it, he could get it. For someone as sinfully logical as him, the philosophy of sincerity and dedication was as plain as day, even though he hadn't really been able to put it in words.

(A struggling business major called Kang Younghyun would later change that when he would sit at three o'clock in the morning on Sungjin's countertop, eating ramen off the pot's lid and explain in detail why Sungjin was his best friend between bawling his eyes out, but that is a story for another day.)

Ten year old Sungjin's firm desire was fulfilled with such great success because from that moment on his entire world revolved around only that one desire (his friends and family were an exception to this rule because he understood that in the society, _no man is an island, Sungjinnie, remember that_ ).

But Sungjin had also decided that if something, _anything,_ else ever managed to drag away his attention from the world of food, even for a millisecond, he would pursue that with as much vigor as he had done with his present career.

Because that anything would truly have to be _something_ for it to divert his attention which he had exerted on his aspiration with an iron will.

Sungjin had prepared himself for the inevitable though.

From what he had seen, every man and woman eventually succumbs to the world's temptations  and he didn't expect to ever be an exception to that.

Then Yoon Dowoon appeared.

One moment Sungjin was all alone in his fortress and the next moment Yoon Dowoon existed inside it; casually, like he had been there all along.

-

_"First impression to be good atleast? What happens after?" Dowoon laughed, a wild mischievous sound that unleashed itself without restraint to meet head on with the crisp February winds and Sungjin thought at that moment with an indescribable amount of happiness, **ah, my something is finally here.**_

_Dowoon gave one last kick to the tin can that clattered away with a loud clack, clack, clack, becoming fainter as it rolled farther and farther from them. Streetlights seemed to be swallowed by his hair that looked like it was made of a piece of the night. "Is something wrong, Sungjin-hyung?"_

_A rush of something light and airy coursed deeply though his veins and then Sungjin knew he couldn't be more honest when he said, "You sound really nice when you laugh."_

_Dowoon had looked at him with a beautiful tint of red coating his cheeks, stuttering as he muttered a soft, "Th-Thanks", and Sungjin decided, like he had when he was ten, but with a few more years of experiences added to it, that the young critic with his beautiful smile was his something._

_So when they neared their building, Sungjin said with firm resolve, "Yoon Dowoon-ssi?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"I like you."_

_Dowoon stopped abruptly, shock prominent in his features. "What? Hyung what-what do you mean?"_

_Sungjin looked at their building only a road away, then looked dead into Dowoon's eyes as he said simply, "I like you. In a very non platonic way."_

_You are my something. I've been waiting for you._

_"I need a moment." His wide eyes had become wider as he looked anywhere but in Sungjin's eyes. Sungjin desperately wanted to grasp his chin and force him to look at him and give him an answer. But he knew that that was not the way the world worked. It didn't matter whether he wanted Dowoon or not unless Dowoon wanted him._

_A relationship, his third aunt from his mother's side had told him, was not about love or need; it was about understanding and consent. Sungjin respected that thought._

_"You can take as long as you want." Sungjin assured. He gestured towards the 24 hours grocery store, "Do you want something to drink as you do that?"_

_Dowoon raised his eyebrows, sharp amusement, replacing his uncertainness with mind blowing speed, "Are you asking me out on a date hyung?"_

_"Does that mean you have finished thinking Dowoon-ssi?" Sungjin shot backwards smiling widely. He was a naturally satisfied person, but this was actual happiness-so strong, that his very bones very thrumming with its energy._

_"Yes." Dowoon nodded. Looking at Sungjin with a goofy smile, all his previous shyness swept away by the chilly wind he said, "I think I can allow you to take me out for one date, hyung."_

_"Seriously?"_

_"Just one." Dowoon insisted._

_Sungjin grinned. "That'll be more than enough."_

_

Sungjin rang Dowoon's doorbell with a panicked sort of urgency, the critic's desperate tone in the phone call still ringing clearly in his temple.

"Dowoon-ssi." Sungjin rang the bell again, panic eating his insides raw. "Dowoon, open up-please. Dowoo-" The door clicked open slowly. "Oh, thank the Gods."

But if even a fraction of relief had coursed through him, then horror ten times of that slammed him in full force when he saw Dowoon tear streaked face. "Hyung." His voice was hoarse, like he had replaced his vocal chords with sandpaper. "You're here."

"Dowoon-ah." Sungjin said softly, trying not to further agitate the boy as he cautiously let himself in.

The studio room was an exact copy of his, the door opening to a wide living space/bedroom, an open kitchen and a bathroom to their left, except that it was trashed; completely.

"What," Sungjin looked at the upturned coffee table, the bare bookshelves and the books that littered the floor worriedly, "happened Dowoon-ssi?"

"Nothing." Dowoon said in a monotone. "I'm sorry for making you panic, hyung. You came all the way."

Sungjin looked at the boy. Dowoon eyes were scanning the room with a dead sort of look in his eye, his entire posture slumping. Slowly, Sungjin placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Dowoon-ah."

Grief filled his heart and twisted painfully as Dowoon's lifeless eyes met his and rapidly began filling with tears. His entire being seemed to have been drained of energy.

"H-hyung," said Dowoon brokenly, trembling under his touch. "Hyung."

Sungjin wasn't exactly sure whether what he was doing was right, but he had seen Jimin do it when she tried to make people better and it seemed to work. Wrapping his arms around Dowoon, he hugged him, stroking the nape of his neck in awakened, but rhythmic strokes. "It'll be okay, Dowoon," he murmured gently as Dowoon began to break down into sob onto his shoulder.

"N-no...it w-won't." Dowoon cried harder, to the point that Sungjin couldn't handle the two of their combined weight and they ended up sitting on the floor, with Dowoon still sobbing on Sungjin's shoulder. "I am-" He hiccuped, "I am a coward, hyu-hyung."

"It's okay." Sungjin rested head on Dowoon's shoulder. He smelt of citrus body wash and steam, he probably must've taken a shower. "You'll be okay."

Dowoon's arms held him tightly enough to choke around the waist, but Sungjin did not mind it. It was heart wrenching to see the man that he actually cared for break down in such a way in front of him, but all he could do was try to support the young critic who obviously trusted him enough to call him even though they had only been together to one midnight date.

"I'm so weak, hyung." His voice was weaker, like was about to pass out. Sungjin could feel Dowoon's body get a little heavier in his arms. "I can't even handle stress by myself."

"My third aunt from my mother's side told me this English quotation when I was a kid, Dowoon-ah." Sungjin whispered softly into Dowoon shoulder. "No man is an island."

"I think I've h-heard of that."

"Yeah?" Sungjin smiled a little as he felt the tense muscles of Dowoon's shoulder slowly start to loosen. "That's good. Do you know what it means?" Without waiting for an answer he continued," It means that you cannot thrive by living-"

-

_"-alone." There was a sparkle in his aunt's eyes as she slowly swirled the blood red wine in her glass. "Do you know what the full poem is?"_

" _Do I need to know?" Sungjin was itching to go back to the warmth of home instead of sitting late at night in the patio, but his aunt was older than him and you don't argue with your elders. Also, this particular aunt was pretty cool._

_"It might make a difference or it might not." When she shrugged, her peacock earrings danced along with her. "Who are we to be the judge of that?" Then she gave him an embarrassed smile and said, "Actually I forgot the poem, but you should check it out."_

_Sungjin wisely kept quiet._

_She gave him a long look. "You're not going to check it out, are you?"_

_-_

"Do you know what the full poem is?"  Sungjin shifted slightly.Dowoon had fully relaxed into him, making his muscles cramp with their weird position. Not even the carpets could get rid of his misery.

When Dowoon did not respond, Sungjin patted him slightly. "Dowoon? Dowoon-ah?" He pushed Dowoon away and kept him at arms length so that he could look at him.

Dowoon had fallen asleep.

Sungjin looked at his tear streaked cheeks and messy hair with a sad smile. "What is making you so sad, Dowoon-ah? You're making me feel so helpless." He found himself hugging Dowoon tightly, like how the younger had done with him earlier.

Sungjin suddenly understood that he was feeling fear, but not for himself. He was afraid for Dowoon, he was willingly hurting for Dowoon.

His something had found a place in him and was slowly becoming _everything_. Sungjin accepted it with open arms. Change was beautiful if it came to stay with him in the form of Yoon Dowoon.

 


	9. Prove It

 

Drifting back into consciousness was a slow process when it concerned Dowoon.  It may be due to the fact that he enjoyed the fictitious world that his sleep induced mind produced a little too much compared to his reality, but Dowoon thinks that it is because maybe he feels safer in the lap of his dreams than in real life.

Through the rapidly disappearing haziness of his slumber, various sounds that his mind refused to sort out just yet, lazily entered into his ears. Just as the feeling of slightly rough, but comfortable, material of whatever he surface he had passed out on returned to the bare parts of arms and legs, Dowoon felt sleep finally leave him all together.

He wanted to cry out to sleep to not leave him yet- just a little bit more, _please_ \- but realized that his mouth felt swollen and dry, like it was stuffed with cotton balls.

Then as a familiar tiredness filled his limbs and his heart and threat seemed to feel tangled up in one huge endless heap, Dowoon began remembering the events before with startling clarity.

He remembered the final dregs of his sanity leaving him all together, collapsing into a heap like a house of flimsy paper cards that drifted away with the wind. He remembered frantically pressing a certain Chef's contact with shaking fingers on his mobile, eyes blurring and heart clenching so tight that even bile refused to move past his throat.

 

  
( " _Hello, Dowoon_."

 

"Hyung...Hyung, I-I don't think...I want-"

 

"- _What_?"

 

"I don't- _ohgodplease_...Help me hyung."

 

" _Where are you now_?"

 

"H-Home. I'm at home hyung...please, please, please, I'm so sorry-hyung, I'm so sorry-"

 

" _I'll be there in fifteen minutes, okay? Fifteen minutes, I promise_." )

  
When he had opened the door, fifteen minutes later, Sungjin's concerned demeanor was enough to crumble down any frontiers that he had tried to keep up; guilt and relief wove through him tightly like spider silk, invisible but lethally powerful.

And then as he had finally, finally collapsed in Sungjin's arms, breathing in the scent of spices, greedily enveloping in his inviting warmth, Dowoon allowed the dam to break down and rip him inside out.

But the aftermath of that decision was apparently only the slightest of relief. The feeling of something heavy still pressed close to him, not as close as before, but still enough to make him feel claustrophobic.

As his eyes fluttered open, Dowoon briefly wondered whether something was seriously wrong with him.

A plain, blinding white ceiling looked back at him as his vision cleared. Dowoon slowly blinked in confusion, certain that his apartment ceiling was sky blue, the only other color other than grey in his apartment.

He slowly grappled around for support and pushed himself up, finding his fists clutching unfamiliar, patterned bedsheets and a beautiful, multicolored (and definitely hand knit) quilt covering him. Panic quickly started filling the edges of his still sleep addled brain, waking him up just as quickly as a bucket of freezing water.

This was definitely not his apartment. It was modeled in the same way; from his position in the farthest right corner of the room he could see the same kind of door as his opening to the square shaped main living space. The bed he occupied was directly underneath a large window similar to his own, except this was facing the opposite side of his own view.

But the main difference was that while Dowoon's apartment was almost entirely colored in grey, this one was filled with a lot more color.

The sizzling sound of something hitting the pan caused him to finally sit up completely and peer at the connecting kitchen to his left.

Dowoon had already started to have an idea about whose bed he was currently in, but it still shocked him a little to see Sungjin standing in front of the large granite counter that took nearly the entire one side of the apartment, his back to Dowoon as he tossed something in a pan.

Stomach grumbling at the sudden assault of the not too overpowering scent of sesame oil, Dowoon swung his legs to the side of the bed and let his feet touch the fluffy black carpet on the ground. Pushing the quilt away from him, he got up, ruffling his hair with one hand and rubbing his smarting eyes with another (side effects of a good cry-fest) as he debated on what to say to Sungjin.

As he stood there, he looked around and suddenly his breath caught in awe as he finally saw the wall behind him. A life sized cherry blossom tree was painted on the wall, dipping down to the bed with the weight of the pink flowers and reaching towards the window where outside the city life was illuminated in shades of warm orange, yellow and white under the streetlights.

The black carpets stopped a few inches after the bed and changed to dark hardwood floors as it stretched out to cover the living space. The wooden flooring changed to a creamy white when it reached the large and obviously well looked after open kitchen with its spotless and wide array of utensils.

Dowoon stood on the area where the dark and light wood met, awkwardly shifting as a sudden bout of embarrassment overtook him.

What are you supposed to tell a person who saw you crying like there was no tomorrow?

Thankfully it was at that moment that Sungjin decided to turn around, and Dowoon was saved from starting the conversation.

"You're awake." Sungjin said, a warm smile pulling up the edge of his lips in the most attractive way possible. His hair was messy in a way that made Dowoon want to run his hands through it and he wore a plain black t-shirt that seemed to define his body in a way no clothing should ever be allowed to do.

Sungjin leaned a little against the breakfast counter and gestured towards a seat. "Sit down, I'm making gimbap."

Dowoon wordlessly sat on the gestured barstool, trying to look anywhere that was not Sungjin.

Which was not a very difficult feat, because there were many things to look at. The entire breakfast counter was a timeline of Sungjin's college life. Dowoon traced his fingers over the glass as jumped from picture to picture. There were so many people in his life. He noticed that Wonpil and Brian were in most of them.

"Housewarming gift from Younghyun." Sungjin's voice broke through his thoughts, causing Dowoon to look up. The man was adding minced garlic and black pepper into the pan of what looked and smelt like tuna. He looked at Dowoon and then at the countertop, "I meant the photo album thing."

"And the cherry blossoms?" Dowoon asked, trying stop his cheeks from heating up by just looking at Sungjin. It was harder than it looked.

"Wonpil's housewarming present."

"Wonpil paints too?" Dowoon shook his head in amazement. "Is he talented in everything?"

"He didn't paint that." Sungjin stirred the pan with one hand and pulled a dish of chopped green onions towards him with another. "One of his art friends did that. Apparently he wanted to try a trial piece before his actual exhibition piece and Wonpil volunteered for me. Do you know Lee Minhyuk?"

"Lee Minhyuk?" Dowoon racked his brains for the people he had seen hang out with Wonpil in the time he had been with the pianist. "Wait...is he the one with bleached hair? Very loud? And paint splatters on anything he wears?"

"That's the one." Sungjin nodded, turning off the heat and adding the chopped onions in the pan." Though I think he has black hair now."

"It's been a while since I've met him." Dowoon admitted, fiddling with his fingers. Lee Minhyuk had been a nice guy, Dowoon regretted a little that he hadn't stayed in touch.

Sungjin pulled out a bottle of sesame oil and drizzled a little on the pan. As he started adding toasted sesame seeds, Dowoon said quietly, "You're not asking me to talk about it."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sungjin put a few pickled radish strips and avocados on a plate along with a few strips of what Dowoon could only guess was crab meat.

Dowoon stayed silent. He was being offered a choice and now he didn't know what to do. He wanted to punch Sungjin in the face for being so understanding but at the same time he wanted to kiss him full of the mouth for being such an attractive bastard.

So he watched Sungjin place a sheet of seaweed on a bamboo mat and then evenly spread a layer of rice with an air of professionalism only a Chef could achieve. He started by adding a yellow radish pickle strip, then some avocado and then the red crab meat strip.

"I was afraid." Dowoon said finally. He watched in a sort of hypnotic mesmerism as Sungjin gently, but deftly rolled the bamboo mat with commendable precision.

"Afraid of what?" Sungjin removed the mat to reveal the roll that looked delicious enough for Dowoon's stomach to grumble again. Loudly.

Quickly and artfully, Sungjin cut up the roll into pieces and placed them on a plate which he put on the breakfast counter. He pulled out a pair of chopsticks from behind the counter and placed it near the plate. "Eat."

Dowoon picked up the chopsticks, but made no move to eat it. His stomach told him he was hungry, but his mind projected the feeling of sharp nausea every time he made a move to eat it. Tears of frustration sharply prickled in the corner of his eyes as his finger began to visibly tremble at the dilemma.

All of a sudden Sungjin's hands were holding his shaking hand between them, warmth infusing as he gently squeezed.

"Dowoon-ah, you don't have to do this alone."

"The Food Chronicles released an article yesterday, hyung. They listed out the top ten food bloggers and critics of the year." Dowoon clenched his free hand, he could see the knuckles turn white with pressure. "I was in the first spot."

"That's great-" Sungjin must have seen his expression, "...isn't it?"

"I don't," Dowoon let out a frustrated noise. "I don't know what I'm doing, hyung. Everything is just happening and I'm just going along with it. I really like this job. No," He let out a dark laugh. It was bitter. "I used to like this. I mean obviously, I'm good at this." The chopsticks rattled out of his grip, but Sungjin's hands didn't make any move to leave his.

"I'm popular enough, there are high end restaurants calling me everyday and I earn more money than most people on this business. Hell, I have a permanent manager and camera crew and a personal stylist. God, you must be thinking I'm the most ungrateful brat you've met in you're life, hyung."

Dowoon looked at Sungjin dead in the eye and said, "I hate this job, hyung."

When Sungjin said nothing he continued, suddenly all the words rushing to get out. "I don't understand how, but I can't stand it. It hurts to wake up every morning to know that my entire life ahead of me will be filled with trying out various types of food that all taste the same in the end. I handpicked this job, hyung. I wanted this life. I fought for it, I went against what everyone wanted and proved that I could do something with it. But now when I look at food, I want to throw up."

The two of them have been to exactly one date together; near the Han river at midnight after a sudden proposal from Sungjin. They had done nothing spend it in companionable silence and few words between them. But those few words were enough for Dowoon to know that for Sungjin, his entire life was devoted to the world of food.

So his shock to Sungjin's response after his word vomit was justified. "Is that why the only thing I could find in your fridge was one apple?"

Sungjin was smiling. Not an outright smile, but that smile where the corners of his eyes would crinkle and his features would lighten up in a fond sort of happiness. Dowoon didn't know whether to feel happy or offended. He really thought of what kind of response he was expecting from Sungjin when he called him. He came up with nothing.

"Do you trust me, Dowoon?" Sungjin asked, looking at him with an intensity that made Dowoon feel both scared and a little excited for some reason.

"Yes." He answered without hesitation. He called Sungjin out of all the people before he broke down completely because of that trust. He couldn't explain it, but Sungjin made him feel the safest he had felt so far.

"Then trust me when I do this." Sungjin gently pulled his hands away from Dowoon's and took the abandoned chopsticks. He slowly picked up a piece of the freshly made gimbap and looked at him meaningfully.

Dowoon swallowed, unable to look up as the food laden chopstick hovered over his mouth. With a dry mouth and the telltale signs of nausea creeping up his throat he said, "Hyung-"

"Just one bite. Hm?" Sungjin was whispering, like he was telling him a secret.

Dowoon looked up tearfully, helplessly. "Hyung, I can't-"

"One bite." Sungjin insisted softly. Parting his lips wide, like how you'd ask a toddler to eat he said, "Aah?"

Steeling himself, Dowoon allowed the hovering chopstick to enter his mouth. As his tongue touched the surface of the gimpab, flavor burst out from it and automatically he chewed on a reflex. A moan escaped him, but Dowoon was too gone to care, the moment the food had enveloped his taste buds his stomach had cried out with joy and the nausea evaporated, like it had never been there.

Sungjin was very, very good at his craft.

He opened his eyes, that he hadn't known he had closed. Sungjin was looking at him with a smile and a another piece of gimbap on the chopstick. "One more bite?"

 

-

"See, that wasn't so difficult was it?" Sungjin asked putting down the chopstick.

Dowoon was feeling full and content and strangely happy. Sungjin had done nothing, but silently feed him (which is kind of romantic, his brain supplied after the initial shock was over) but he was feeling like the air around him was less suffocating now.

"Thankyou, hyung." He said sincerely, looking at his hands that were wringing each other nervously. He felt strangely vulnerable as he said that, like Sungjin could read everything he was thinking and feeling.

"Then will you tell me what you are afraid of, Dowoon?"

Sungjin had crossed the counter and took a seat next to him. Dowoon opened his mouth. Then closed it.

What was he actually afraid of? Why was he acting this way?

"Do you want to know what I think?"

Dowoon looked at him to find Sungjin's eyes already on him. He shifted uneasily, but did not break eyes contact.

"I think," Sungjin leaned forward, causing their knees to touch, leaving only enough space for breathing, "you are afraid of expectations."

The bar stool was not very high, but Dowoon was feeling breathless and a little lightheaded. From his peripheral vision, he could see Sungjin's fingers tapping against the counter as he spoke, but he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from his gaze.

"You have worked so hard to reach where you are with particularly little to no support. Now that you have finally proven your worth in this field, you are afraid that it will all crash down without a warning." Sungjin's voice sounded stronger, but somehow still remained a whisper. Dowoon felt waves of shock and relief flow through him one after the other. "You know you can do more than this, but you're afraid that you can't."

Dowoon looked down at his intertwined fingers. Something akin to understand was starting to come to him. "So...I'm just stressed?" He whispered to himself. Was that it? He couldn't handle something so trivial that he had to call someone else for help. How weak was he really?

"No,you're an idiot." Sungjin sounded exasperated. Dowoon refused to look up.

"You're not alone, Dowoon." Sungjin continued gently when Dowoon didn't say a word. "You don't have to face it alone."

"Independence is a necessity, hyung." Dowoon whispered tiredly.

"Support is not dependence." Sungjin countered stubbornly.

"So what do you suppose I do?" His words were harsh, but so was the intensity of his frustration. He didn't look up, but he could imagine that Sungjin was already regretting even taking him out on a date. Some people don't deserve a chance. "Burden you with all of my problems? Look at you now, hyung, you had to come out in the middle of your work because I'm here throwing a temper tantrum. I...I don't deserve you, hyung."

"Who are you to decide whether you deserve me?" Sungjin asked, not unkindly. "Do you know what _I'm_ afraid of, Dowoon?"

"What?"

Sungjin's fingers touched the underside of his chin and gently forced him to look up. It was terrifying, how beautiful he was when he smiled. Dowoon couldn't feel his breath become shorter and his cheeks grow warmer.

"I'm afraid of being unable to do anything for what I love." Sungjin chuckled, a sweet sound in the heavy silence that followed his statement. "I'd never commit myself to something until I'm absolutely sure I can give it my everything, Dowoon. I'm doing this willingly, I want you to know that."

It was a sudden stroke of bravery, or stupidity, or maybe both.

"Prove it to me."

"What?"

Dowoon felt the corners of his lips lift up a little as he repeated, a little more loudly, strongly this time. "Prove it to me."

Sungjin cradled his face with both of his hands and smiled; lips, teeth and all and Dowoon knew that he had called this upon himself. And his expectations were only that, because Dowoon was only learning that Sungjin was nothing like he had ever encountered. He held a sort of quiet wildness which attacked you silently with an intensity that crumbled you before you could lift a finger.

"Okay."

Dowoon felt it before he saw it. The threading of Sungjin's fingers through his hair and then a yank that sent tremors of shock shooting up and down his spine . Then they were kissing, lips moving painfully, but oh so deliciously slow against each other as Sungjin took his sweet time to explore every inch of Dowoon's lips.

When they pulled apart, they were both panting, hearts thudding, smiles wide.

Sungjin pulled him out of the bar stool, turned him so that his back hit the countertop. A moment of silence. He carded his fingers through his hair, tugging a little that earned a breathy moan from Dowoon.

"I want you to talk to someone, Dowoon."

Dowoon frowned. "What are you talking about? I just talked to you." He was yet to come down from the high that the kiss gave him, but he thought was understanding what Sungjin was saying.

"I want you," Sungjin continued to massage his scalp with skillful gentleness, "to talk to someone professional."

Dowoon stilled. Betrayal coursed through him fast enough to bring him crashing down. "What-What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about." Sungjin leaned and kissed the corner of his lips. He smelt like spices, rice and sesame oil. He smelt like an idea of home that Dowoon could only dream about.

"Are you saying I'm crazy, Sungjin-hyung?" Hard, steely.

"No." There was nothing but honesty when Sungjin said that. "But I want you to do this, because I don't want you to doubt yourself again. And there is nothing wrong with this. If there isn't anything wrong with taking a routine physical health check up, I don't see why it's so weird to take a mental health check up."

Dowoon looked at Sungjin, hesitating.

So Sungjin kissed his forehead, warm lips carving gentle words of reassurance. "Dowoon, do you trust me?"

Dowoon closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was smiling. "Yes."

"Prove it." Sungjin was grinning. "Prove it to me."

Dowoon laughed; the sound loud, rambunctious and free. He snaked his arms around Sungjin's (surprisingly) slender waist and twisted them around so that Sungjin was now pinned to the counter. A sudden, breezy sound of surprise tumbled out of his lips and Dowoon suddenly wanted to hear that on repeat.

One hand holding the nape of Sungjin's neck, he said softly, "With pleasure." For a fraction of a second, they stayed there, bodies so close that they were sharing the same air and then Dowoon dove in and closed the gap all together. Sungjin tasted of apples-sweet and tangy- his lips slow dancing with Dowoon's in an unhurried rhythm.

He let Dowoon take the reins easily, parting his lips wider, giving him entrance. Sungjin was moaning softly into Dowoon's mouth, each one punctuated by a firm tug of his hair.

When they finally broke apart, breathless and laughing, Dowoon asked suspiciously, "Did you eat my only apple from my fridge?"

There was devious smirk in Sungjin's face that sent shivers down his spine when he said, "Can you prove it?"

Dowoon was only learning that Sungjin was nothing like anyone he had ever encountered. But somehow that little knowledge made everything a lot more thrilling.

"That was my last apple." He muttered, trying to hide the laughter in his voice.

"How can I make it up to you?" Sungjin didn't bother to hide his laughter.

"Kiss me again?"

"Gladly."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mental health is an important thing guys. If you feel like you can't do it alone, it's perfectly okay to ask someone for help. Seeking professional help does not mean that you are weak. It means that you are strong enough to have realised what is going wrong and are taking all steps to make sure you're healthy and happy.  
> Asking for support is not a sign of dependence everyone, remember that.
> 
> Also, this is pretty long chapter. Wow.


	10. Jae and Brian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for all/any grammatical errors. As usual, unedited.

  
**6 Months Later.**

 

  
Jae and Brian sat, shoulders a hair's breadth away from each other and watched the empty restaurant as they passed a bottle of expensive wine between them.

Such a silence was unlike them, but there are always some special nights when the utter stillness was especially delicious underneath dimmed restaurant lights that compelled any person to sit quietly and just listen to absolutely nothing but the idle clink of a wine bottle and another person's steady breathing.

Back when Brian had first opened _Hi, Hello_ there had been another night like this; the restaurant was just a tiny diner then, the wine was cheaper and the company was a naturally silent Sungjin. They spent the whole night, just the two of them, drinking and enjoying the silence that Sungjin seemed to value so much. It was one of those times when Brian thought that he had a tiny glimpse of what his best friend might be feeling.

There was the sound of glass sliding smoothly across the wood; the wine bottle, almost a quarter empty, returned to Brian's possession. His fingers curled around the neck of the bottle, but Jae's hand-warm in contrast to the chill from the bottle-closed over his.

But of course, Jae was no Sungjin. The night couldn't be as blissfully uneventful as it had been with the quiet Chef.

There were crinkles around Jae's eyes when Brian turned to look at him, his mouth drawn up into an all too familiar grin. And when Brian raised an eyebrow, nodding questioningly at the hand that was still over his own, Jae just smiled wider and shook his head.

Brian frowned, but made no move to pull away. There was something very small, significant and firmly ignored that was creeping up his heart again and pumping blood faster than ever to his neck and cheeks. Underneath the dimmed lights and cushioned by silence, everything suddenly seemed more intimate.

Jae's fingers tightened around his. Brian held his breath.

The recently renovated glass doors of _Hi, Hello_ opened, and the sounds of the world spilled into their silent little universe rapidly, but gently.

Sungjin entered, his steps brisk over the smooth, polished floors. The city lights behind him created an eerie, but ethereal glow as he stopped momentarily to glance at the two of them and then at their hands that were over the bottle of wine. Then he simply nodded and continued into the back of the house.

Brian and Jae shared a look that sent them into peals of laughter. Before they could say anything though, Sungjin was back, a coat draped over his arm.

"I forgot to take it after my shift," said Sungjin, raising his arm slightly to show the coat. His favourite one, Brian observed with interest.

"Are you meeting someone, Sungjin?" Brian said.

"Dowoon's coming back from France today" Sungjin showed the car keys in his palm. "I'm heading over to the airport to pick him up."

"Ah, Dowoon-ssi hasn't been around for a while, has he?" Jae asked curiously. "I remember Wonpil mentioning that he hasn't been to college in a while; he's even disappeared from the internet."

Even Brian had found Dowoon's sudden disappearance very odd. Maybe the kid wasn't as extroverted as Jae was, but he had somehow become a person that Brian would look out for when they would all meet up. And since Sungjin and Dowoon were neighbors, it automatically meant that Brian would drop by to say hi to Dowoon whenever he visited Sungjin, which was quite often.

Brian wasn't close enough to Dowoon to miss him, but there was more than one occasion when he wondered where the widely successful young critic had disappeared to.

"Dowoon has been... traveling." Sungjin said, sounding oddly tender. Brian wondered whether he had imagined that emotion in his best friend's voice.

"Tell him that we all missed him." Jae suggested warmly, sounding like he knew something Brian didn't. "Tell him that we're glad he's back home."

"I will." Sungjin assured. "I'll get going then," he said and then stopped and nodded at their hands that were still clasped together over that damned wine bottle, "Congratulations, both of you."

"Thanks," said Jae, nodding seriously as Sungjin disappeared into the city lights.

Brian whipped his head towards Jae so quickly that he nearly suffered a whiplash. "What?"

"What." That goddamned smile seemed permanent on his ridiculously handsome face.

"Did you even know what Sungjin congratulated us for?"

"Maybe,"Jae pretended to think, "he was congratulating us for something we should have done a long time ago."

Brian choked on air. "W-Wait, come again?"

Jae raised their hands that were still clasped together. "Kind of obvious isn't it?"

There was something very small, significant and firmly ignored that was creeping up Brian's heart with thick strong vines and squeezing it so tight that he was feeling breathless. But it was a good breathless; the kind of feeling you got just before you dropped down from the highest point on a swing as a kid.

"No," said Brian stubbornly. It was his own fault that he decided to ignore all of Jae considerably more subtle signs until now, but he will admit to nothing. If he messes it up now of all the times, he wouldn't forgive himself, but that was just the way he was. He made decisions that either worked or didn't. "I don't see a thing."

"I can show you the thing," sang Jae, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Brian pulled his hand out of Jae's, missing its warmth almost immediately. "Jae-Jae, maybe we should just-"

"Shhh." Jae put a finger over his lips and shushed him loudly. "I get it, you're nervous. But, like, have you seen the dramas? You're not supposed to say anything in this scene. All you need to do is to sit still and look pretty, I'll do all the action."

"No, wait," Brian suddenly felt defensive,"why am _I_ the pretty one?"

"Okay." Jae shrugged, giving a dramatic sigh." I'll be the pretty one, and _you_ ," his eyebrows waggled suggestively again, "can do all the action."

"N-No," Brian stammered, heat further intensifying in his face, "th-that's not what I meant. I mean, I just-shit, I don't even know what I'm saying. I'll just shut up now."

"Goddammit." Jae whistled lowly. "Has anyone told you how cute you look when you stammer? I mean smooth talker Brian Kang is hot af, but blushy-stammering BriBri is on a whole other level."

"What the hell is a BriBri?"

"One of the potential pet names that I'm hoping to call you in an optimistic future?" Jae asked, looking slightly nervous. "Brian-Younghyun, I'm serious about this."

"What, calling me BriBri?" He was hoping that his voice didn't show how much it affected him that Jae called him by his Korean name. He was hoping for this, from a long time ago, but he was afraid then. He was afraid now.

"Brian, please."

But when had fear ever helped anyone become better at something? Only when you learn to cross it do you truly receive what you always desired.

"Cross out BriBri from your list. You're a writer, be creative." Brian grumbled, trying to hide a smile that was threatening to split his face wide open. Something was happening, the beginning of something that he could truly appreciate.

"Thank all the Gods, I thought you'd never say yes." Jae said, wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead. But he did truly look relieved.

"What if I didn't?"

"I'd try again." Jae said simply. "Again and again and again until you said yes."

"And if didn't say yes?"

"It is scientifically impossible to resist my magnetic charms and exceptionally good looks for that long, so don't worry."

Brian laughed, weight rapidly lifting off his chest. "What the hell have I gotten myself into?"

"What the hell indeed." Jae agreed serenely. "Why am I such a sexy beast, right?"

"I'm not going to encourage this any further."

"Got it, Boss." Jae saluted cheekily.

Brian punched his shoulder and said dryly,"You resigned two months ago."

Jae pretend to nurse his shoulder with a hurt expression. "I'll make sure my drama is good and earn lots and lots of money so that you won't have to support me completely. Then we can buy a big house with a huge garden and then buy and bunch of cute puppies and live happily ever after-Am I overwhelming you?"

"A little," Brian admitted, laughing. "But it's okay, as long as we take this slow."

"Slow-yes, of course, we can go super duper slow."Jae rambled, hair falling all over his face. Brian suddenly wanted to put him under a spotlight and just look at every inch of him."I mean, that's how relationships should be right. Slow and steady, yeah that's the way it should-wait, you're coming closer, why are you coming closer-"

Brian kissed him, feather light, on his cheek. Jae smelled like expensive wine and cologne. His cheeks were warm and softer than it looked. Brian smiled, his teeth showing, "I could get used to this."

"Yeah." Jae sounded dazed. "Me too."

Hours later, they were still in the same spot; still only a quarter of their wine empty, silence covering them singly like warm blankets. This time though, their shoulders were touching, and Brian could feel Jae's heat seep into his own shirt.

"Brian," said Jae suddenly out of nowhere. "I think Sungjin is dating Dowoon."

"Say something that's sounds a little more believable, Jae." Brian laughed. "What you're saying will not happen even if purple pigs start flying in the sky-"

"What's with you and purple pigs? You threatened to fire me that one time by saying that purple pigs could blend into a crowd better than me."

"You got my point though."

"But I'm serious  dude," Jae sounded really excited now. "Sungjin is in love, I can feel it. The impossible has happened, now I can die in peace."

"Don't be dramatic." But Brian could see the connection now. The way Sungjin seemed to know about Dowoon's whereabouts better than them, the way they seemed to hang out together, and of course the fact that he went to pick up Dowoon from the airport after almost six months of disappearance. How had they missed it?

"You think so too, don't you?" Jae looked very, very excited now. "This is character development, Brian. Solid character development. Wow, wow, wow."

"Wow." Brian agreed.

Things had been changing all around him, they are changing. Brian regretted being afraid for so long but as he looked at Jae and gave him the most sincere smile he could muster, he found, to his pleasant surprise, that it came easily enough.

He was excited for this, whatever this was.


	11. Yoon Dowoon, food critic and young adult

 

  
When Dowoon was thirteen years old, he had experienced his first panic attack.

 

Interestingly, for such a significant turning point of his life, he had very little remember about it. He remembered small, insignificant things: the way the sun got into his eyes through the open windows, his brother's slightly concerned-partly suspicious face, the way the entire party that his rich parents were hosting continued even though he never returned from the roof after he left.

 

That panic attack wasn't very scary now when he thought about it. Maybe then, silently gasping on the rooftop, tears streaming down his face as he struggled to breathe even though cool air was _everywhere_ , it was a little terrifying. But ten minutes later, sitting on aesthetically colored concrete closest to the edge of the terrace with the sounds of classical music coming from downstairs, Dowoon realized that the world would never work the way he wanted it to. So he started, then and there, to teach himself to calm down.

 

Dowoon was eighteen years old, when his brother's fiancé witnessed him having a panic attack. He hadn't planned for her to see it, but _the world works the way it works_ and Dowoon had long stopped fighting it. So when his soon to be sister in law accidentally came entered the makeshift storage area during her engagement party he simply smiled through gritted teeth and politely asked her to shut the door.

 

She did shut the door, but she didn't leave like he thought she would. When he opened the door, hurriedly straightening his suit and wiping the sweat and tears away, she was standing outside- waiting for him with worried, concerned eyes.

 

"How long has this been going on, Dowoon?"

 

Dowoon looked at her, the absolutely wonderful woman that was going to marry his brother and thought to himself that some people are sincere, even if the world works the way it needs to work. Some people chose to care, even though all relationships are temporary and the relationships which are permanent are mostly formalities that are necessary to live in a society.

 

Honestly, he wanted to tell her why he was the way he was. He wanted to confess how fucked up a person could become when they come to realize that people liked people because they were interesting. Once you start digging and find things you don't like, people abandon and people hurt, each other and themselves.

 

It seemed inappropriate to tell her that Dowoon found holding up a persona so that he could hold proper conversation terribly exhausting and that each time he talked to a group of people he found himself want to shut himself in a room and cry until the filthy feeling of deceiving others washed away.

 

But this woman, who unlike all the others who had chosen to look away while he struggled stayed, even if it was for a while. Maybe people hurt people, but some people chose to heal too and Dowoon respected that.

 

So Dowoon did what was most appropriate. He smiled sincerely, to the first person in his life that openly chose to care, bowed low, and left without a word.

 

It was shortly after this incident that Dowoon discovered something. He didn't get a panic attack as long he didn't interact with people for too long, as long as he didn't establish emotional bonds with them. This essentially meant that he had to not care about anyone in the literal sense, which was quite a hard thing to do even though angsty male leads in teen fiction seemed to do it easily enough.

 

He never learned not to care, but by the time he formally enrolled in college, he learned to avoid people- a tactic, he learnt, was even better than ignoring people all together. He would make friends with people he had to, talk to them for the required period of time and then avoid the,. It didn't help with the guilt, but it stopped the panic attacks.

 

But his lack of interaction with people meant that he had more time in his hand to himself. And time for himself meant that he could scrutinize every aspect of his life and find faults in it that would be otherwise impossible to find. This finally lead to him losing everything he had, everything he wanted and anything he remotely cared about.

 

Depression.

 

Dowoon was smart enough to know what he was going through.

 

Anxiety. Self-loathing. Emptiness. Loneliness. _The lack of tears_.

 

Dowoon looked away, like all those people who had looked away when he was gasping for his breath.

 

But the world works the way the world wants to work. He met people he couldn't help but like and beat himself up when he left them. Then he met Sungjin.

 

He never believed it when people said that some people are just special, that the bulldoze your prior beliefs into nothing and show you a perspective you never though would be possible.

 

Then he met Sungjin.

 

 

 

**I just got past customs. Where are you? :me**

**Sungjin: Arrivals. Look straight.**

 

 

 

 

Sungjin stood in the arrivals section looking just as ethereal as he had been six months ago when Dowoon ran away to France for a change of scenery. Something tugged at his heart, _hard_. Raising a hand in greeting, he walked as briskly as possible towards the man, hoisting his backpack up his shoulder.

 

"Dowoon," said Sungjin with his beautiful smile that no selfies or face times could recreate. His hair was dyed a shade lighter, bringing out his eyes. He was wearing glasses.

 

"S-Sungjin hyung." The tugging in his heart was getting harder. Dowoon wanted to kiss the life out of him, instead he decided to consider the public and went for a hug instead. He sighed, breathing in the familiar smell of spices and feeling the way Sungjin's arms wrapped around him. "Sungjin."

 

Sungjin pulled away first, smile impossibly larger and ruffled his hair. "It's good to have you back."

 

There was a knot in his throat and something terrible tight around his heart. " _Sungjin_."

 

Sungjin's smile morphed into alarm. He held his shoulder gently, "Dowoon-ah, are you crying? Did something happen?"

 

See, there was a time Dowoon did not believe when people said that some people are special. There was a time when Dowoon was afraid of people because he believed that they deceived him with their personalities just as he did to them. But a certain Chef changed it, without the person himself realizing it.

 

Sungjin didn't bother to sugar coat his views, and could see right through him when he tried to. Even though the main reason for his break down six months ago was as simple as stress due to expectations, Sungjin had seen through the problem and witnessed the monstrous weight that Dowoon diligently grew behind it.

 

He may never have admitted it then, but he could freely admit now; Sungjin's decision to talk him into seeking therapy was more helpful than he ever thought it would be.

 

Sungjin, in every way, had saved Dowoon from self destruction and still found space to love him after all that.

 

Dowoon gave a watery laugh. There were tears streaming down his cheeks faster than he could wipe them. He hugged Sungjin again, sneakily wiping his tear stained face on the man's favorite coat. "I missed you so much, Sungjin. I'm so sorry I left for so long."

 

Sungjin held him tighter, stroking the nape of his neck soothingly. Dowoon continued sniffling.

 

"Dowoon?"

 

He hummed contently, not ready to leave his boyfriend's embrace just yet. Six months felt like six decades.

 

"Are you trying to sneakily wipe your snot on my favorite coat?"

 

Dowoon laughed, pulling away, and gave Sungjin his most innocent smile. "I would never."

 

Sungjin laughed, taking Dowoon to an all new high of missing him. How could one miss a person when they were right in front of them?

 

"I love you." The Chef said simply, a fond twinkle in his eye.

 

Dowoon's heart swelled so much, he was surprised it didn't burst out of his chest already. He patted Sungjin's cheek one, lovingly, and then tugged at his arm petulantly. "I know. Now take me home."

 

Sungjin grinned and gave a mock salute. "As you wish, _Monsieur_."

 

Dowoon stubbornly pretended that the reddish tints on his cheeks were due to the sudden cold as they stepped outside and not because of Sungjin's impeccable French accent. Nope, definitely not the French accent.

 

-

 

"Shit, is that really _Hi, Hello_?" Dowoon's eyes widened as Sungjin pulled up on the parking lot opposite to the restaurant. "It's bigger than the pictures."

 

_Hi, Hello_ had relocated right next to the campus, in the vicinity of the bus stop and the main road. It took the entire ground floor and the first floor.

 

"It's a proper restaurant now." There was a look in Sungjin's eyes that Dowoon could not really place. A mixture of happiness and sadness and pure pride. Sungjin looked at Dowoon, "Younghyun's planning on opening another branch in Busan in an year, if things are going smoothly here."

 

"That is amazing," gushed Dowoon enthusiastically. He pointed at the restaurant in front of him, "This is amazing. Six months...that's a long time, isn't it?"

 

There wasn't an ounce of accusation in Sungjin's voice when he said softly, "Six months _is_ a long time."

 

Dowoon had gotten the offer to become an exchange student in one of the greatest culinary schools in France about a month after they were together. Although he tried to convince himself that the reason he was going to France was because of their brilliant molecular gastronomy program, deep inside he knew he was running away.

 

He wasn't running away from Sungjin; God knows if he could stay away from that man for even a day without missing him so terribly that it hurt. He was running away from everything that was familiar to a new world, with new cultures and languages in hopes of a fresh start.

 

His therapist wanted him to stay in Korea and untangle the strings that he had made here, but Dowoon had always been excellent at persuading people and his therapist grudgingly allowed him to go to France if he was able to come back a slowly sort out his life in Korea.

 

" _I'll be gone for six months_ ," Dowoon had then told Sungjin, on their fifth Han river date, dreading any form of reaction from Sungjin.

 

The Chef was silent for a moment, making Dowoon feel guiltier than anybody could possible feel but when Sungjin turned to him with that beautiful smile in his face and hugged him, Dowoon knew it would be all right.

 

" _I don't mind waiting for you Dowoon_." He had said, looking like nothing in this world could take his smile away.

 

Now he had that same smile, six months later, like it had never been swept away, and Dowoon felt his throat clogging up again when he wondered how he had been blessed with Sungjin. "You waited for me," breathed Dowoon, looking down at his jeans, unable to meet Sungjin's gaze.

 

There was a shifting of seats and the sound of Sungjin's seatbelt clicking free.

 

Then all of a sudden, they were kissing.

 

Sungjin's lips touched almost hesitantly at first, then as Dowoon leaned towards him, the pressure became more confident and assertive. Blindly fumbling against his seat belt to unfasten it, Dowoon sighed against Sungjin's lips as he finally heard the click and pulled away briefly to let it slide away from him.

 

Sungjin's face was flushed with a healthy coloured, and his lips looked invitingly pink. The street lights from outside drew golden contours against his face and highlighted his hair to a golden brown.

 

Dowoon did not hesitate to snake his arms around Sungjin's neck and lower back so as to pull him as close as possible and kissed him again. Their teeth clashed briefly, at the instensity of the kiss and Dowoon unashamedly moaned into his mouth when Sungjin's fingers drew circles around the nape of his neck and then briefly tugged at the strands of his hair.

 

More, his mind screamed, _more_.

 

The console in between them was proving to be an irritating hurdle, but Sungjin still managed to make the kiss as slow as humanly possible.

 

Dowoon could feel everything and nothing at all. His surroundings were a blurred mess, his senses focused solely on the way Sungjin's lips moved against like some sort of mystical dance form and forced Dowoon to part his lips wider to allow Sungjin to graze his lower lip with his teeth.

 

It was languid with Sungjin; every moment felt like he was slowly floating in the infinite universe, watching craters clashing into planets and stars exploding into nothing and galaxies being swallowed up by black holes.

 

More, he wanted so much more. Six months had muted the addictive flavor of Sungjin's kiss into a fading aftertaste at the back of his mouth, but kissing Sungjin had brought it back with renewed vigor. Dowoon wanted his mouth to be full of it; so full of it that it spilled down his throat and filled him up. He wanted _more_.

 

So Dowoon pushed back, struggling a little as he climbed over the console and onto Sungjin's lap, renewing his efforts and forcing Sungjin to submit to Dowoon's lips that tasted like it was the elixir of happiness. Sungjin moaned lowly when Dowoon's tongue entered his mouth, the vibrations sending pleasant shivers down his spine.

 

Dowoon was the chaos to Sungjin's order, exploring each inch of the infinity, watching planets burst into flames in high definition, bathing in showers of star dust and becoming one with the galaxies that were swallowed by black holes.

 

"Sungjin," whispered Dowoon, panting due to the lack of air. Sungjin's eyes looked a little glazed as he paused to take in the way Dowoon was straddling his lap, and his hands either shoulders. He hummed in reply, then leaned down to press a kiss against the base of his throat.

 

"Sungjin." Dowoon muttered his name like a prayer, heat curling in his gut while Sungjin proceeded to suck the sensitive area in torturously slow pace . "Sungjin. Sungjin. _Sungjin_." Towards the end, Dowoon's voice had risen into a high moan, back arching and toes curling as Sungjin gently nipped the area with his teeth.

 

Sungjin pulled away to look at the now bruised skin and then placed a gentle, chaste kiss on it. Eyes twinkling with mischief he said, "I missed you too."

 

"Prove it to me then." Dowoon said breathless, still riding on the high of kissing Sungjin after so long. He was touch starved and he wanted Sungjin _everywhere_ and he wanted him _now_.

 

Sungjin laughed and pulled him into a kiss again, but broke off immediately. Dowoon frowned at the loss of contact, palms still on either side of Sungjin's face, eyebrows raised up petulantly.

 

"Not here." Sungjin said gently, but firmly.

 

Realization did nothing to silence the fire of need that burnt through him, but it did enough to knock him back into his senses. They were in a very public place in a city that didn't really appreciate any homosexual activity, and even though it was pretty late at night, they were technically violating public decency.

 

"Sorry," said Dowoon, feeling shame burning his ears. "I didn't think it through."

 

"It's alright." Sungjin said easily, allowing Dowoon to move away from his lap and onto to the passenger seat.

 

"It's not alright." Dowoon said, but there wasn't any bite to his words. Laughing, he straightened his clothes and reached for his seatbelt, "But we have plenty of time after we reach home, so I'm not to upset. You don't have work tomorrow, do you?"

 

"Six months has made you a lot more daring." Sungjin commented idly, fastening his own seatbelt. Dowoon did not miss the grin that was slowly but surely making its presence know.

 

"I just missed you." Dowoon defended, already looking forward to reaching home, smiling so hard he was afraid it might split his face apart.

 

"I know."

 

"I love you."

 

Sungjin's fingers stilled over the steering wheel, then relaxed. Leaning over quickly to give him a quick peck on the cheek, he began pulling the car out of the parking lot. "I know. I love you too."

 

When Dowoon was thirteen years old, he had experienced his first panic attack in a room full of people after pretending to be a person he wasn't for too long. At that time, he had believed that genuineness could not exist for any sort of working relationship. At that time, he had believed, miserably guilty and burdened, that his showcasing his true thoughts or desires would prove to become the breaking point of any successful interaction.

 

Now, when Dowoon was ready to graduate college in an year, he couldn't say that he was much better off. He still found himself adopting a different persona when he talked to new people, he still felt the guilt that came attached to it every time he did so, and on some days he still felt like his personal choices, however successful they have proven to be, might be disastrously wrong.

 

The Dowoon of the present couldn't say that he had learnt to accept himself completely, but he was _learning_. Now he had friends around him who were family, a boyfriend whom he loved with his life and was equally loved by in return, a degree that he was truly passionate about and a career he was once again, excited to continue with.

 

Perhaps one day many of these might change, for the better or for the worse. But _the world works the way it works_ and that one day was too far away to extinguish the hopes and happiness of today.

 

Today, Yoon Dowoon, food critic and young adult, was learning to trust others and most of all, _trust himself_ , and that honestly, was all that mattered.

 

 

  
**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's about it. Now we have then epilogue left, but we have finally come to the end of Hi,Hello. It's been one heck of a journey, and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thankyou for sticking around and reading what I wrote.  
> And I'll see you in the epilogue.  
> Stay safe, and stay true to yourself, guys. Have a great day.


End file.
